EU-Mercosur trade deal in peril over sustainability standards

Europe’s demand for stricter sustainability requirements in a stalled trade agreement with South American countries shows the difficulty in imposing a global baseline, as governments navigate different economic trajectories in the green transition

Confidence in finalising a free trade agreement between the EU and a bloc of South American countries formed by Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay is waning, as negotiating factions disagree over the enforcement of sustainability safeguards. Upcoming elections across both groupings are complicating talks further.