EU strikes deal on tighter farm import controls in Mercosur pact

the EU’s largest ever trade accord in terms of tariff cuts, some 25 years after negotiations were launched. The deal has proven contentious. Countries led by France and Italy have said they are not ready to back the trade deal and have demanded additional measures to protect their farmers. The European Commission presented the accord for approval in September and sought to soften opposition by adding a mechanism that would allow Mercosur preferential access for some farm products, such as beef, poultry and sugar, to be suspended. It said the trigger for launching an investigation should be if the import volumes rose by more than 10% per year or prices fell by that amount in one or more EU members. However, the European Parliament voted on Tuesday for a lower trigger level of 5%, compared with a three-year average of imports. Negotiations started late on Wednesday on a compromise between representatives from the parliament and counterparts from the Council, the grouping of EU ...