Brazil Threatens Retaliation as EU Halts Meat Imports
Brazil Threatens Retaliation as EU Halts Meat Imports
The News
Brazil is threatening to retaliate against the European Union after an EU suspension of Brazilian meat, poultry, eggs, honey and other animal products took effect Thursday over the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in Brazilian livestock.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's agriculture ministry said it would consider reciprocal measures if a satisfactory solution is not reached.
Reuters reports the ban affects about $1.8 billion in Brazilian exports. Beef alone accounts for roughly $1 billion — some 108,000 tons shipped to the EU in 2025, according to Brazilian government figures.
Brazil is the world's largest beef exporter and the only Mercosur member hit by the suspension.
Timeline
The EU and Mercosur — Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — sign a free trade agreement. It remains provisional, pending a decision by the European Court of Justice.
The EU announces Brazil will be removed from its list of countries authorized to export certain animal products, arguing Brazil failed to provide sufficient guarantees that its livestock production meets EU standards against antibiotic growth promoters and other restricted drugs.
The EU announces the suspension, to take effect two days later. European Commission spokeswoman Eva Hrncirova says a new list of countries complying with EU antimicrobial rules takes effect Sept. 3 — the step that triggers the case against Brazil.
The Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil sends a document signed by its chairman to Brazil's foreign ministry, saying the suspension "results in the clear nullification and impairment of trade benefits legitimately expected by Brazil."
The deadline passes and the suspension kicks in. Brazil's government and exporters scramble; the agriculture ministry issues its warning.
Reactions
"Brazilian authorities expressed their indignation at the lack of dialogue before the measure was adopted," the agriculture ministry said, adding that the suspension "does not match the depth of the strategic partnership between Brazil and EU."
The ministry said Brazil "reserves the right to resort to appropriate instruments to ensure balanced trade conditions, including reciprocity measures provided for under the national legal framework, as well as relevant mechanisms established in the Mercosur-European Union agreement and the multilateral trading system."
ABIEC, the Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries, called the move concerning for local producers and said it failed to recognize the quality of Brazilian beef sold in 170 countries. "Brazilian beef will continue to be sold in the markets for which it is authorized, but there is no automatic substitute for the European market, since different destinations require distinct products and cuts," the group said.
The Brazilian agriculture confederation said the EU had failed to account for the rigor of Brazil's health inspection system and needed to make amends for the trade imbalance.
The EU did not respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
What's Next
Brazil's agriculture ministry says it may invoke reciprocity measures under Brazilian law, under the Mercosur-EU agreement, or through the multilateral trading system. It has not named which European products or sectors would be targeted.
Robson Goncalves, an economist and professor at Fundacao Getulio Vargas, said he expects the EU to enforce additional measures against Brazil until the EU-Mercosur deal comes fully into force. He called the mechanism used to halt Brazilian exports "a political measure" and said, "These are the last attempts to protect European agribusiness from competition with Mercosur agribusiness." He added: "Others like those will come in the next few years."
The trade deal itself still awaits the European Court of Justice.
More
Meat imports have been the central sticking point in European opposition to the EU-Mercosur agreement, with European farm groups warning about competition from South American producers. The suspension lands on the same fault line — Brazil frames it as protectionism dressed up as food safety, while the EU says Brazil simply failed to meet its antimicrobial standards.
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