Overview
- EU member states have approved the pact, and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is slated to sign it in Asunción on January 17.
- The European Commission said the treaty allows provisional application before a European Parliament vote, which remains a potential hurdle.
- Recent adjustments include agricultural safeguards such as tariff‑rate quotas, tighter sanitary rules, and market probes triggered by 8% price and volume shifts.
- Farmer actions continued in France with road and port disruptions at sites including La Rochelle, Bayonne and Le Havre, while Catalan groups lifted remaining blockades after meetings with President Salvador Illa and Agriculture Conseller Òscar Ordeig.
- Several governments, notably France, Poland and Ireland, oppose the accord and may press challenges as Mercosur producers—especially in Argentina—anticipate significant export gains under broad EU tariff reductions and expanded quotas.