Last week, farmers on tractors clashed with police in Brussels, calling on the European Union to reject the nearly completed EU-Mercosur free trade agreement. The farmers fear that agricultural imports from the Mercosur countries—which comprise Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay—would harm domestic producers. Under particular pressure from their respective agricultural sectors, the governments of France and Italy succeeded in postponing the signing of the deal—which was supposed to take place this weekend in Brazil—until January.
France had already been expressing second thoughts about the latest iteration of the agreement since the two sides finalized it in late 2024 after 25 years of on-and-off negotiations, including a last push to respond to France’s previous objections. Writing at the time, I noted that it was “a rare moment when Latin America looks organized and united in comparison to Europe.”
Checking back in on the lack of progress on the deal since then, that comment still applies. Despite all the economic and geopolitical challenges it faced in 2025, Europe appears poised to reject an agreement that would certainly help the continent compete globally. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is in a stronger position to negotiate than he was a year ago and has no desire to concede anything more to his European counterparts.