Mercosur: MEPs letter warns of concentration risk due to quota allocation system

Published on 24/04/2026 - 13:44 GMT+2

A missive is circulating successful the European Parliament informing of the attraction that mightiness effect from the strategy of quotas allocation contained successful the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement and the imaginable for large South American cultivation firms to maltreatment it.

The document, sent to EU Agriculture Commissioner Christophe Hansen and Climate Commissioner Wopke Hoekstra, comes arsenic the statement is acceptable to participate provisional unit successful a week (1 May), contempt warnings from European farmers implicit unfair contention from Latin American imports.

“In markets that are already highly concentrated, peculiarly successful Brazil, determination is simply a precocious hazard that volumes volition beryllium captured by a constricted fig of ample concern groups with the fiscal and administrative capableness to entree quotas and run done subsidiaries located successful Europe,” the missive reads.

The agreement, signed mid-January betwixt the EU and Mercosur countries — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay —, cuts tariffs connected some sides of the Atlantic, creating a free-trade country of much than 700 cardinal people.

Negotiated implicit 25 years, it includes tariff-rate quotas for delicate products specified arsenic beef and poultry. 99,000 tonnes of beef per twelvemonth volition beryllium allowed into the EU astatine 7.5% tariffs, and 180,000 tonnes of poultry astatine 0%, with some phased successful implicit 5 to six years.

But these limits person failed to quell absorption successful Europe. On 21 January, the European Parliament moved to notation the statement to the Court of Justice of the European Union to measure its legality.

Quota strategy managed by Latin American countries

The letter, initiated by Belgian wide MEP Benoît Cassart, himself a farmer, flags the hazard that Mercosur’s cultivation heavyweights could predominate entree to quotas, arsenic the statement allows Latin American countries to negociate their allocation. It besides points to a Commission regularisation adopted earlier this week successful Brussels implementing that provision.

“Reduced-duty quotas let definite ample exporters to participate the European marketplace much easy and unafraid outlets,” it said. “Once these commercialized relationships are established, they tin past summation their volumes by exporting beyond quotas, this clip astatine afloat duties, but inactive to the aforesaid buyers.

“Quotas service arsenic a strategical introduction point, enabling exporters to grow their beingness and consolidate their presumption connected the European market.”

The missive volition circulate among MEPs until 30 April.

Cassart’s bureau told Euronews the concerns absorption successful peculiar connected Brazil, wherever quotas are allocated based connected past export show oregon fiscal and method criteria that favour already well-established players.

Brazilian nutrient elephantine JBS, heavy subsidised by Brasília, is among those singled out.

The missive calls connected the Commission to exclude beef and poultry from the quota absorption strategy granted to Mercosur countries, truthful that power remains “fully and exclusively” successful EU hands.

Failing that, it urges the instauration of a reappraisal clause allowing reassessment based connected indicators specified arsenic measurement attraction and the fig of operators benefiting from the quotas.