Farmers and politics threaten to put EU's free-trade deal with South America on ice

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"France is throwing up a last-minute obstacle to a massive trans-Atlantic trade deal between the 27-country European Union and the five South American nations of the Mercosur bloc that's taken a quarter-century to negotiate. Angry European farmers fearing new competition from the EU-Mercosur pact are marching on Brussels, and European negotiators who thought they would finally wrap up the deal this year are facing a tough week."

The Independent funds on-the-ground reporting across issues including reproductive rights, climate change, and Big Tech, and produces documentaries such as 'The A Word'. The outlet requests donations to continue sending journalists, present multiple perspectives, and keep reporting free of paywalls by relying on supporters who can afford it. France is obstructing a trans-Atlantic EU-Mercosur trade pact negotiated over 25 years between the EU and Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. The agreement would progressively remove duties on almost all traded goods over 15 years, cover 780 million people, and represent about one-quarter of global GDP. Ratification requires approval by all 27 EU states and the European Parliament, while angry European farmers are protesting in Brussels and negotiators face a difficult week.

Read at www.independent.co.uk