EU lawmakers vote to launch legal challenge to Mercosur trade deal

EU lawmakers voted on Wednesday (Jan 21) to challenge the European Union’s contentious free trade agreement with South America in the bloc’s top court, a move that could delay the deal by two years and potentially derail it.

The European Union signed its largest-ever trade pact with Mercosur members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday. The agreement still requires approval before it can take effect.

Opponents, led by France – the EU’s largest agricultural producer – say the deal will sharply increase imports of cheap beef, sugar and poultry, undercutting domestic farmers who have staged repeated protests.

Currently, Datamar data show that Brazil alone exported 396,829 TEUs of containerized cargo to the 27 countries of the European Union between January and November 2025. With the agreement entering into force, the share of Brazilian trade covered by preferential agreements could jump from 8% to 36%, according to a recent study by the National Confederation of Industry (CNI), significantly expanding access to the European market.

Below is a historical view of the month-by-month evolution of containerized shipments to the EU, based on information available on the DataLiner platform.

Container exports to the EU | Jan 2022 – Nov 2025 | TEUs

Source: DataLiner (click here to request a demo)

LEGAL CHALLENGE

A group of 144 lawmakers put forward a parliamentary motion to ask the EU Court of Justice to rule on whether the agreement can be applied before full ratification by all member states and whether its provisions restrict the EU’s ability to set environmental and consumer health policies. The court typically takes around two years to deliver such opinions.

The European Parliament backed the motion with 334 votes in favour to 324 against, with 11 abstentions.

If referred to the court, the EU could still apply the pact provisionally pending the ruling and parliamentary approval. But doing so could prove politically difficult given the likely backlash, and the European Parliament would retain the power to annul it later.

Supporters including Germany and Spain point to U.S. President Donald Trump’s disruption of global trade. They argue the deal is essential to offset business lost to U.S. tariffs and to reduce reliance on China by securing access to critical minerals. They also warn that Mercosur governments are losing patience with the EU after years of negotiations.

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