LONDON — The U.K.’s environment ministry is blocking the launch of trade talks with the South American Mercosur bloc over concerns the agreement could undercut British farmers, four people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.
Trade Minister Chris Bryant has been pushing for a free-trade agreement with Mercosur — comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and recent joiner Bolivia — arguing it would be a “no-brainer” after the EU struck its own deal. An agreement could open South American markets to British services and manufacturing exports.
But the prospect of opening the U.K. market to imports from agricultural powerhouses like Brazil — a global export leader in beef and poultry — has triggered resistance inside the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA).
The issue echoes opposition in the EU, whose own Mercosur deal sparked farmer protests over fears cheaper South American imports would undercut domestic producers. Although that deal entered provisional force in May, Poland and France have joined European lawmakers in calling on the EU’s highest court to review it.
