Mercosur: The European Parliament approves safeguards to protect European agriculture
According to the new regulation, approved by 483 votes in favor, 102 against and 67 abstentions and agreed informally with the Council, the tariff preferences provided for in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement for imports of agricultural products from Argentine, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay may be temporarily suspended if the increase in imports causes serious injury to European producers.
The new regulations stipulate that the European Commission must initiate an investigation into the need for protection measures if imports of sensitive products, such as poultry, beef, eggs, citrus fruits and sugar, increase by 5% above the three-year average (compared to the 10% per year initially proposed by the Commission) and, at the same time, import prices are 5% below the price in the EU.
Member States, legal persons representing the sector, or an association acting on behalf of the industry may request an investigation in the event of a threat of serious harm to the sector concerned.
In addition, the Commission must submit a report to Parliament at least every six months with an assessment of the impact of imports of sensitive products.
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