The European Union’s decision to block imports of meat products from Brazil hasn’t gone unnoticed. Quite the opposite: meat is straining relations between the northeastern and southwestern shores of the Atlantic. Brasília is expected to prepare symmetrical responses if Brussels doesn’t soften its stance on antimicrobials used in South American farming, which are banned in Europe. At the same time, tensions over animal protein are also flaring up as the EU and Mercosur work to define their free trade area.
Meat inflames relations
Let’s move from the specific to the broader picture. According to Euractiv, a portal specializing in EU affairs, Brazil intends to retaliate against the EU’s meat import ban (until 2028 in the case of beef). More precisely, it plans to resort to “retaliatory measures” unless the Commission acts within a reasonable timeframe and in line with the reciprocity standards set out in the free trade agreement signed with Mercosur. Meanwhile, the South American bloc itself has split over meat quotas. Talks between Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay failed to produce an agreement because, ANSA writes, Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay want quotas to reflect established export volumes to Europe, while Paraguay is asking for them to be divided into four equal 25% shares.
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