SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil said Tuesday that the European Union has moved to block its animal product exports from September, just days after a mega deal between the South American trade bloc Mercosur and the EU on a trans-Atlantic market estimated at $22 trillion went into effect, at least provisionally.
The deal, which is now before the European Court of Justice, has faced opposition from European farmers and environmental groups worried about unfair competition, threats to their livelihoods, price pressures and environmental standards.
A statement from Brazil’s agriculture ministry said Europe’s decision was received “with surprise,” adding that the South American country’s government will try to reverse it. Brazilian media said the EU claimed it had not received proof that animal products from Brazil and other countries were free of antimicrobial substances used to stimulate animal growth.
Brazil’s head of mission at the EU will meet the bloc’s authorities on animal products on Wednesday “to seek explanations about the decision,” the ministry said.
According to the Brazilian government’s association for animal products, EU countries were the third biggest destination for Brazil’s beef in 2025, after the United States and China.
The EU-Mercosur free trade agreement came into force on May 1. It was signed Jan. 17 at a meeting of the South American group, which includes Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s has provisionally enacted the deal, effectively sidestepping the EU Parliament where the agreement is now being challenged by EU lawmakers at the bloc’s judiciary. The agreement will be halted if the European body rules against it.
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