EU Committee Votes to Ban Brazilian Animal Products from September — Mercosur Deal Strained by Food Safety Dispute
An EU standing committee voted on May 12 to suspend imports of Brazilian animal products — beef, poultry, eggs, honey, and aquaculture — effective September 3, 2026, citing Brazil's continued use of antimicrobial growth promoters (AGPs) that are prohibited under EU food safety law. The decision threatens approximately $1.8 billion in annual Brazilian exports to the EU and arrived just eleven days after the EU-Mercosur free trade agreement entered provisional application on May 1. Brazil's government expressed 'surprise' at the timing and vowed to challenge the measure through bilateral diplomatic channels and, if necessary, at the WTO. The episode highlights the tension between the EU's Single Market food standards and the trade liberalisation commitments embedded in Mercosur, and prompted Brazilian agriculture minister Carlos Fávaro to travel urgently to Brussels.
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- T2 Euronews — Brazil surprised by EU ban on meat imports Major western
- T2 RTE — EU moves to block Brazil animal product exports Major western
- T2 Washington Times — EU moved to block Brazil's animal product exports starting September Major western