"EU Mercosur deal sacrifices forests and rights on the altar of trade", 28 June 2019

Twenty years of free trade negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the South American trade bloc known as Mercosur have resulted in a deal which will have devastating consequences for the climate.

"This trade deal is a double whammy for the planet: it will exacerbate deforestation and encourage the production of big, dirty, cars. This might just be the EU's worst trade agreement for the climate" said Perrine Fournier, trade and forests campaigner at Fern.

Today's agreement between the EU and Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay opens EU markets to more beef imports from countries where ranching is the main cause of deforestation, while favouring the export of EU cars, especially highly fuel-intensive Sport Utility Vehicles (SUVs)...

...Since Jair Bolsonaro became Brazil’s President, his government has dismantled environmental protections, incursions by armed invaders on Indigenous Peoples’ lands have surged, and deforestation rates in the Amazon have risen...

...It will now be up to the EU Council and the European Parliament to approve the agreement's entry into force. On June 20, EU Member States made the "promotion of European values on the global stage" a priority for the next five years.