Farmers Unite, Stop EU-Mercosur

Ministers and Members of the European Parliament from your country are about to vote on a trade deal that could have catastrophic consequences for farmers. The EU-Mercosur trade deal is between the European Union and Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brasil, Paraguay and Uruguay.

Farmers are opposed to this deal because:

• It will attack farmers’ livelihoods

  Farmers are already struggling to earn a decent living and this trade deal will make it worse. EU markets will be flooded with additional cheaper imports that will drive farmers’ prices down even more, as big companies chase profits by pushing food production towards more intense and destructive practices. Between Europe and Mercosur countries there are differences in geographic and climate conditions, health and hygiene standards, labour and environmental laws, to name a few. These differences mean that a farmer in Poland and a farmer in Brasil have different production costs, and so they will never compete on a level playing field. But big companies will exploit these differences to squeeze out greater profits, forcing farmers out of their profession in the process.

• It will create an unstable food production system

  This trade deal will impose an industrial food production model that puts profits over farmers, consumers and the environment. Farmers will be forced to produce food as cheaply as possible, preventing them from adopting more sustainable practices. On top of this, importing food with high carbon footprint generates harmful emissions that escalate the climate crisis. Unpredictable weather and extreme climatic events put harvests at risk, making our food production system even more unstable. As the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have shown us, we need to produce food more locally in order to be resilient to shocks. This trade deal stretches the food production chain across continents, increasing dependencies that make the whole system more vulnerable.

• It abandons farmers for agribusiness and other industries

  Agriculture is a critical sector that must thrive for society to survive. But farmers are disappearing at a rapid rate, with 36% of agricultural jobs lost between 2005 and 2020. A lack of action to deter the most exploitative practices of big companies has left farmers dependent on CAP subsidies to earn a living. This trade deal prioritises other industries over agriculture. Other sectors of the economy may win, but if agriculture loses then society loses. For centuries farmers and agricultural workers have been at the heart of our communities, proud to put the food on our plates. We are the custodians of the land – our fields, rivers and woodlands – and our knowledge is passed from generation to generation. We have been sounding the alarm over the stability and sustainability of our food production systems, and this trade deal shows that we are being ignored. The false promises and PR spin of the President of the European Commission will not protect us – we need to stop EU-Mercosur to survive. If we lose our farmers, we leave agriculture at the mercy of corporate greed.