EU Suspends Brazilian Beef, Poultry, Egg and Honey Imports Over Antibiotic Compliance

The European Commission's suspension of Brazilian meat, egg and honey imports came into force on September 3 after Brazil failed to provide guarantees, ahead of the deadline, that its livestock exports comply with the EU's ban on using antimicrobials to promote animal growth. The measure — affecting beef, poultry, eggs, honey, horses and animal casings, roughly $2 billion a year in trade by Brazil's own estimate — hits just as the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement (in provisional application since May 1) was meant to expand agricultural trade between the blocs. Brazil supplied written compliance guarantees for poultry and honey, allowing a compliance audit to proceed that could lift those product bans within weeks; officials said beef would take roughly two years to resolve given cattle-rearing cycles. A Commission spokesperson said the underlying rule — barring imports from countries not on its antimicrobial-compliance list — took effect for all trade partners on September 3, not solely for Brazil.