Marta Castilho, Kethelyn Ferreira and João Braga Observations on the Impact of the EU-Mercosur Agreement 1 General overview The Agreement between Mercosur and the European Union (MS-EU Agreement), which had been negotiated since 1999 between the two blocs, entered a new phase on 6 December 2024, when Mercosur leaders and the President of the Euro ­pean Commission officially announced the conclusion of ne­gotiations and marked the start of the legal review and translation phase of the agreement. This conclusion referred only to one part of the Association Agreement(the trade agreement), which includes two other pillars in addition to trade: cooperation and political dialogue. These other parts address issues of interest to civil society in both blocs, such as environmental issues and scientific cooperation. Most progress has been made on trade-related issues. 2 The agreement was met with protests from farmers in France, who believe that it consolidates unfair competition from Mercosur producers due to differences in quality re­quirements and regulatory demands of environmental legis­lation on the two continents. Following this reasoning, production in South America would not have to comply with European criteria; as a result, it would face lower costs and, given the exemption from trade tariffs proposed by the agreement, would reach the EU market at a much lower price than European products and become more competi­tive. The unease expressed by farmers in France, Europe's leading agricultural producer, is shared in other countries such as Poland, Austria, the Netherlands and even Spain. There is no consensus within Mercosur with regard to the effects of the agreement. While a more optimistic view em­phasises the benefits of a possible increase in agricultural exports, there is a perception among civil society that, be­yond the environmental and social impacts of strengthen­ing agribusiness, the agreement reinforces a perverse spe­cialisation in the economies of the Southern Cone and re­duces the possibilities for productive development due to the detrimental effects on industry, part of the services sec­tor and even on some segments of agriculture, such as family farming. 1  The opinions expressed herein are those of the authors of this article. Version of 11 March 2025. 2  The announcement referred to the conclusion of negotiations; however, the agreement is still far from being implemented. In addition to translation and legal review, the text must be approved by the European Parliament and, depending on the legal format chosen, will have to be ratified, totally or in part, by all EU member States. The need for comprehensive approval by all States creates a high degree of uncertainty with regard to its entry into force. Observations on the Impact of the EU-Mercosur Agreement 1