Mercosur: Parliament approves safeguard clauses to protect EU agriculture
Process in Brief
The European Parliament adopted a regulation on safeguard clauses that had been informally agreed with EU member states, with 483 votes in favour, 102 against and 67 abstentions. The regulation sets out how the EU could temporarily suspend tariff preferences envisaged in the EU‑Mercosur trade deal for agricultural imports from Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay when a surge in imports harms EU producers.
What Is at Stake
The rules target sensitive agricultural products including poultry, beef, eggs, citrus and sugar and introduce objective thresholds to trigger protection measures. The Commission will open an investigation when imports of these products rise by 5% on a three year average and import prices are 5% below the relevant domestic price, investigations may also be requested by a member state or industry representatives, and the Commission must report to Parliament at least once every six months on import impacts.
Timeline
Once formally adopted by the Council the regulation will be published in the Official Journal of the EU and will apply once the Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement enters into force.
Sources
Official Documents
- Mercosur: Parliament approves safeguard clauses to protect EU agriculture Parliament approved a regulation establishing safeguard clauses to protect EU agriculture in the EU–Mercosur agreements, enabling temporary suspension of tariff preferences for Mercosur imports when harm to EU producers is detected.
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