US dairy and meat sectors fear Mercosur

The EU Mercosur agreement with several South American countries poses a threat to the trade interests of the US in Latin America. This is stated by representatives of the meat and dairy sectors in the US. They want action to be taken on this. It is not yet the case that their signals have prompted President Trump to take action, but according to American industry organizations, they risk being put at a disadvantage by the provisions in the Mercosur agreement and thereby losing significant market share in a market with around 700 million consumers. Fear of 'monopolies' The organizations even speak of a potential monopoly position of European and Latin American companies within the new free trade zone. They also strongly oppose the fact that the Mercosur agreement includes recognition of European geographical protections for a range of products, such as Parma ham, feta, and special wines. Mercosur tentatively starts The Mercosur agreement is not yet fully in effect, but on January 17, a partnership agreement and an interim trade agreement were signed in Paraguay, allowing the facilitation of mutual trade to begin. On January 21, the European Parliament put a bit of a spoke in the wheel by wanting a ruling from the European Court of Justice on the trade agreement first. The member states also still need to give final approval to the agreement. Meanwhile, trade is expected to get underway anyway. Cheap potash Whether the US will take retaliatory measures against the EU and the South American partner countries remains to be seen. The US government has actively focused on protecting its own agricultural trade interests. Various countries and trade blocks have already faced tariff increases or threats thereof. The Trump administration has also lifted several sanction measures between partners of Russia to assist its own farmers. As a result, potash and other fertilizers from Belarus can be exported to the US again at a very low tariff since the end of last year, while the EU continues to maintain sanctions against Belarus due to its support for the Russian invasion of Ukraine.