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yesterday

EU Governments Clear Mercosur Trade Pact After Italy Backs Deal

Italy's late backing delivered the qualified majority, leaving the pact to a European Parliament vote.

Police officers stand guard next to the fire as farmers protest against the EU-Mercosur free-trade deal between the European Union and the South American countries of Mercosur, on the day of a European Union leaders' summit, in Brussels, Belgium, December 18, 2025. REUTERS/Yves Herman/File Photo
French farmers park their tractor in front of the Arc de Triomphe to protest against the Mercosur trade alliance with South America countries but also EU farming policy or mass cull of cows ordered to contain the spread of a skin disease Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026 in Paris. (AP Photo/Emma Da Silva)
A ship docked at a port in Salvador, Brazil, on September 25, 2024. (IMAGO/Joa Souza via Reuters Connect)
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Overview

  • EU ambassadors met the 65% population threshold to advance the agreement, paving the way for a possible signing in Paraguay as soon as next week.
  • Italy’s switch to support followed Brussels’ offer of earlier access to up to €45 billion in farm funding and tighter import safeguards.
  • France and Ireland said they would vote no, joined by Poland, Austria and Hungary, while Belgium abstained, yet opponents fell short of a blocking minority.
  • The pact would remove tariffs on more than 90% of goods and adds a crisis fund, stricter pesticide and sanitary checks, and an emergency brake on sensitive farm imports.
  • Farmer protests intensified with tractors entering Paris and blockades in Belgium and Poland, while Green lawmakers and NGOs warned of Amazon deforestation and signaled legal challenges.