Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

11.12.2025 A10-0254/52

Amendment 52

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Recital 2

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(2) The EMPA and the ITA aim to protect Union producers of sensitive commodities in the agriculture sector by limiting preferences to tariff rate quotas.

(2) The EMPA and the ITA fail to adequately protect Union producers of sensitive commodities in the agriculture sector despite the use of tariff rate quotas and they should therefore be renegotiated.

Or. en

11.12.2025 A10-0254/53

Amendment 53

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

11 a. ‘chemical substances banned in the EU’ means:

(i) the active substances used in plant protection products and banned in the EU as per Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 October 2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market ; or

(ii) the antimicrobial medicinal products in animals for the purpose of promoting growth or increase yield and designated antimicrobials as per Regulation (EU) 2019/6 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 December 2018 on veterinary medicinal products and repealing Directive 2001/82/EC; or

(iii) the antimicrobial products used as additives as per Regulation (EC) No 1831/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 September 2003 on additives for use in animal nutrition.

Or. en

11.12.2025 A10-0254/54

Amendment 54

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 2 – paragraph 1 – point 11 b (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

11 b. ‘adjustment’ means the process by which the Union producers covered by a safeguard measure have stabilised the Union corresponding market, their revenue while allowing a fair wage of the workers, preserving jobs and improving the sustainability of their production.

Or. en

Justification

Since the adjustment of the Union industry is a key criterion when an extension of the initial duration of a safeguard measure is considered, it is important to define what is meant by this.

11.12.2025 A10-0254/55

Amendment 55

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 1 – point c a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

(c a) For point (b), “under such conditions” shall be understood as conditions under which the production in the exporting country are at least equivalent to those in the Union in terms of the protection of human, animal, plant life or health, and the protection of exhaustible natural resources. For greater certainty, the use of chemical substances banned in the Union may be a reason to impose a safeguard measure.

Or. en

Justification

This amendment builds on GATT Article XX (General Exceptions) authorising countries to adopt or enforce measures that are “necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health” (b), “relating to the conservation of exhaustible natural resources” (g) and “ necessary to protect public morals” (a).

11.12.2025 A10-0254/56

Amendment 56

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 3 – paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

2 a. A safeguard measure may be imposed:

(a) if the EMPA or ITA is used to challenge the EU precautionary principle; or

(b) in the case of persistent substantial differences in the standards pertaining to the protection of human, animal, plant life or health, and the protection of exhaustible natural resources.

Or. en

Justification

This amendment builds on GATT Article XX (General Exceptions) and aims at avoiding that Mercosur countries use the rebalancing mechanism to contest measures taken in the EU and grounded on the EU precautionary principle.

11.12.2025 A10-0254/57

Amendment 57

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 – paragraph 1

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

1. The Commission shall regularly monitor the Union market of sensitive products, in particular as regards import and export trends, production and price developments. For that purpose, the Commission shall cooperate and exchange data with Member States and the Union industry on a regular basis.

1. The Commission shall constantly and proactively monitor the Union market of sensitive products, in particular as regards import and export trends, production and price developments as well as compliance with applicable Union sanitary and phytosanitary requirements, with the support of the Union market observatories established by Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. For that purpose, the Commission shall cooperate and exchange data with Member States, the European Parliament and the Union industry on a regular basis. In its monitoring the Commission shall look at the cumulative effect of its preferential trade agreements in force.

Or. en

Justification

It is difficult to single out the impacts of the EU-Mercosur Agreement for European agriculture when we observe a drop in prices or revenues. Therefore, the cumulative impacts of the EU trade agreements in place should be better evaluated and monitored by the Commission.

11.12.2025 A10-0254/58

Amendment 58

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 – paragraph 2 a (new)

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

2 a. As set out in the SPS Chapter of the Agreement, the Commission will carry out verifications, including audits, of the official control system of Mercosur States. The Commission will adapt the nature and frequency of verifications, including audits, to the inherent characteristics of the product concerned, the track record of past import checks and other available information.

The inspections referred to in paragraph 1 shall include checks on:

(a) the use of substances, treatments or production methods that are prohibited or strictly limited in the Union, including pesticides, antibiotics and growth hormones;

(b) the compliance with relevant due diligence legislation;

(c) the functioning of traceability mechanisms for products intended for export to the Union, including the verification of critical points in the supply chain where gaps or irregularities may occur.

The Commission shall ensure that inspections allow for the full traceability of agri-food products exported to the Union, from production to the point of export, and shall take the necessary measures to remedy any traceability deficiencies identified during the checks.

The Commission shall ensure that adequate and sufficient testing capacity is available to carry out the checks conducted by national customs authorities and the inspections referred to in this paragraph.

Or. en

Justification

This amendment builds on Article 6.15 of the SPS Chapter of EU-Mercosur Agreement stipulating that “Each Party, within the scope of this Chapter, has the right to carry out verifications, including audits, of the official control system of the other Party, including verification visits. (...) The nature and frequency of verifications, including audits, shall be determined by the importing Party, taking into account the import requirements, the inherent characteristics of the product concerned, the track record of past import checks and other available information, such as audits and inspections undertaken by the competent authority of the exporting Party.”

11.12.2025 A10-0254/59

Amendment 59

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 4 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

3. The Commission shall present a monitoring report to the European Parliament and to the Council every six months containing its assessment of the impact of imports of sensitive products benefitting from preferential market access under the agreement. Such reports shall cover the Union market and, if relevant, also cover the situation in one or several Member States.

3. The Commission shall present a monitoring report to the European Parliament and to the Council every three months containing its assessment of the impact of imports of sensitive products benefitting from preferential market access under the agreement. The Commission shall provide data on the strengthening of product-specific monitoring and on detailed findings arising from enhanced border checks in the monitoring report. Such reports shall cover the Union market and, if relevant, also cover the situation in one or several Member States.

Or. en

11.12.2025 A10-0254/60

Amendment 60

Saskia Bricmont

on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group

Report A10-0254/2025

Gabriel Mato

Bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

(COM(2025)0639 – C10-0247/2025 – 2025/0322(COD))

Proposal for a regulation

Article 6 – paragraph 3

Text proposed by the Commission

Amendment

3. The Commission shall treat, in the absence of contrary indications, an increase in volume of more than 10% year-on-year, as a rule, of the imports under preferential terms of a given product from a country concerned as prima facie evidence of serious injury or the threat of serious injury to Union industry, if, at the same time, the average import price for those imports from a country concerned is at least 10%, as a rule, below the relevant average domestic price of like or directly competitive products during the same period, based on available data.

3. The Commission shall treat, in the absence of contrary indications, an increase in volume of more than 5 % compared to the three-year average, as a rule, of the imports under preferential terms of a given product from a country concerned as prima facie evidence of serious injury or the threat of serious injury to Union industry.

Or. en