A-Infos (en) Italy, Sicilia Libertaria #470 - Environment, Food, Climate - Let's Disagree with the Mercosur-EU Agreement (ca, de, it, pt, tr)[machine translation]

On May 1, 2026, the free trade agreement between the EU and the 
countries of Mercosur, the South American common market that includes 
Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, entered into force 
provisionally as an interim trade pact. The EU hopes to gain easier 
access to the South American market for its exports; the sectors most 
affected are the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors, but also finance 
and the public procurement system, which has so far been closed to 
foreign companies.
Furthermore, the aim is to reduce Europe's dependence on markets such as 
the US, which has become difficult due to tariffs, or China, especially 
for raw materials needed for the industrial sector. The stated 
objectives of this agreement are the need to create more stable rules 
for trade and investment, food safety, environmental protection, and 
competition; Tariffs will be effectively abolished on approximately 90% 
of European exports and imports from South America. This will create, as 
stated on the European Union website, a free trade area involving 700 
million people, eliminating trade barriers, creating jobs and business 
opportunities, providing solid guarantees for EU regulations, and 
ensuring real competition. This is followed by estimates of the expected 
results by 2040 in terms of increased GDP, annual exports, and jobs, all 
within the EU. It's a wonderful agreement, but it's unfortunate that 
numerous demonstrations have been held against it, both in Europe and in 
South American countries. European farmers, in particular, fear that 
competition from cheaper South American products will harm EU producers, 
and they also raise the risk that these products are contaminated with 
substances banned in Europe because they are considered dangerous, but 
used in these countries. On the other hand, South American farmers are 
well aware that the agreement is the product of the enduring colonial, 
neocolonial, or green colonialist logic, as it would view them as 
exporters of low-cost agricultural, mineral, and energy raw materials 
and importers of processed industrial goods, technology, and advanced 
services. The projected increased exports of goods such as meat, soy, 
corn, sugarcane ethanol, and minerals will inevitably lead to land 
grabbing by multinational agri-food companies, resulting in the 
expropriation of local and indigenous communities; intensifying 
deforestation (the EU is the recipient of 50% of Brazilian products 
linked to deforestation, particularly animal feed and vegetable oils for 
the food industry, but also purchases 117,000 tons of beef and 80,500 
tons of leather from Brazil, approximately 20% of global imports of 
these products, much of which comes from deforested areas); the massive 
use of pesticides, contaminating soil and water; the loss of 
biodiversity; and the increase in territorial conflicts and violence. 
The sustainable development clauses in the treaty, which transfer 
responsibility for ensuring compliance with environmental standards to 
South American countries, are the fig leaf that will allow European 
countries to import certified green raw materials, making environmental 
damage, worker exploitation, and land dispossession invisible to 
European consumers.
Beyond the critical issues highlighted in the agreement-and there are 
many others-the central problem lies in its underlying logic, the 
legitimization of a structurally unsustainable model: reconciling 
environmental protection with unlimited growth in production and 
consumption, a growth that can only be achieved for a portion of the 
population and only by shifting the costs to another portion, and to the 
natural environment. It's yet another reintroduction of the extractive 
model, painted over with a coat of cheap environmentalism. In a time of 
crisis like the current one and with climate prospects far from rosy, 
priorities should be different. First, we should move toward food 
sovereignty, pursued through socially responsible agriculture that 
promotes subsistence practices and small-scale farmers capable of 
combining production with respect for the environment and its 
preservation for future generations. At the same time, effective 
protection of indigenous communities, their traditional practices, and 
the lands on which they live is essential. No less important is the 
recognition of Western societies' historical debt to the global South, 
which serves as a starting point for building international relations 
based on the defense of all life forms and the environment, solidarity, 
and respect for diversity. If there is a future, it will be a less 
technological but more humane one, capable of transcending capitalist 
logic and exploring alternatives for national and international 
cooperation aimed at reducing inequalities and environmental impacts, 
limiting dependence on long supply chains, and re-regionalizing trade.

Brunella Missorici

https://www.sicilialibertaria.it/wp-content/uploads/giugno2026_compressed-1.pdf
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