An Irish MEP is calling for independent TDs to make opposition to the EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement a “red line” in any talks on the formation of a new government in Ireland.
Last month, the EU reached a political agreement with four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – on the controversial trade deal.
Ciaran Mullooly, an MEP for the Ireland Midlands – North-West constituency in the European Parliament, said he has written to independent TDs in that region urging them to make opposition to the trade deal a priority in government formation talks.
He also said that he is working to make alliances with other MEPs to block the agreement’s ratification in the European Parliament.
According to Mullooly, the trade deal is “an immediate threat to Irish farmers, rural communities, and the EU’s own environmental and legal integrity”.
Rural-based politicians and farm organisations have continually voiced concerns about the deal, particularly the provision to allow an additional 99,000t of beef enter the EU at a reduced tariff.
Mullooly said that Irish beef farmers are already under “unsustainable pressure”, adding that the deal “will create a surplus of beef in the EU market, with cheap South American beef produced under far weaker environmental and labour standards”.
“Irish farmers already bear the additional costs of meeting the highest environmental standards in the world, and this deal forces them into unfair competition that could devastate our rural economy.”
According to Mullooly, the deal lacks enforceable safeguards on sustainability or labour standards.
“Unlike other trade deals with countries like New Zealand or Canada, this deal includes no binding mechanisms to ensure compliance with environmental or labour standards. Arbitration panels can only issue recommendations as part of this deal, not enforce penalties, rendering these provisions ineffective,” he said.
The MEP added: “There is nothing in this deal to properly safeguard against imports of beef treated with hormones banned in the EU and linked to deforestation in Brazil, practices that would be illegal here.”
Mullooly called for “decisive action” on blocking the agreement, and urged independent TDs from the Midlands–North-West to demand that opposition to the trade deal is prioritised in government talks.
“The new government must take a firm stance against this deeply flawed agreement. At EU level, I am working closely with like-minded MEPs to build a strong coalition to try to block this flawed and legally questionable deal,” he said.