Implementing the bilateral safeguard clause of the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement and the EU-Mercosur Interim Trade Agreement for agricultural products

Tabled by Francesco Torselli, Waldemar Buda

Added: Temporary suspension of tariff preferences for agricultural products 1. The application of tariff preferences and any liberalisation measures provided for in the Agreement shall be temporarily suspended until 30 June 2026 with regard to all agricultural products covered by this Regulation. 2. During the period of suspension, the Commission shall carry out additional, in-depth on-site audits in the Argentine Republic, the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Republic of Paraguay and the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, conducted by the competent Union inspection services, in particular concerning food safety, the use of pesticides, active substances and antibiotics, animal welfare, and sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary standards. 3. The audits referred to in paragraph 2 shall include an assessment of the compliance of production, control and supervisory practices in the countries listed in paragraph 2 with the objectives of the Union’s Farm to Fork policy, as well as with the following Union legal acts: (a) in relation to the use of pesticides and active substances, including compliance with: Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 concerning the placing of plant protection products on the market, Regulation (EU) 2019/1381 on the transparency and sustainability of the EU risk assessment in the food chain, the lists of substances withdrawn, prohibited or not renewed pursuant to implementing acts adopted under Regulation (EC) No 1107/2009 and the maximum residue levels (MRLs) applicable in the Union pursuant to Regulation (EC) No 396/2005; (b) in relation to the use of veterinary medicinal products and the prevention of antimicrobial resistance, including compliance with: Regulation (EU) 2019/6 on veterinary medicinal products and Regulation (EU) 2019/4 on medicated feed, the rules limiting the prophylactic, mass and routine use of antibiotics in animal husbandry; (c) in relation to animal welfare, including compliance with: Directive 98/58/EC concerning the protection of animals kept for farming purposes, sector-specific directives (broiler chickens, pigs, calves), Regulation (EC) No 1/2005 on the protection of animals during transport, including temperature and travel-time standards and Regulation (EC) No 1099/2009 on the protection of animals at the time of killing; (d) in relation to sanitary, phytosanitary and veterinary standards, including compliance with: Regulation (EU) 2017/625 on official controls, the food hygiene package and Regulations (EC) No 178/2002, 852/2004 and 853/2004, on requirements concerning refrigeration systems, frozen-goods transport, traceability and the supply chain; (e) in relation to environmental and climate requirements, in particular concerning the use of chemical substances in accordance with: Regulation (EC) No 1907/2006 (REACH) and Regulation (EC) No 1272/2008 (CLP), on prohibitions concerning substances of particular concern for health or the environment. The audits shall also assess whether public-control mechanisms and certification systems are in place and capable of ensuring that agricultural products exported to the Union do not contain substances whose use is prohibited or restricted under Union law. 4. The Commission shall submit to the European Parliament and the Council a report on the results of the audits referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3 no later than 30 June 2026. 5. Where the Commission fails to submit the report referred to in paragraph 4 by the deadline set in that paragraph, or where that report demonstrates evidence of non-compliance or a risk of non-compliance with Union standards, the suspension of tariff preferences shall be automatically extended for an additional period of six months. Such extension shall continue to apply, in successive six-month periods, until the Commission has established, on the basis of verified and conclusive evidence, full compliance of the production, control and supervisory systems of the countries concerned with all applicable Union standards.

Wording as published by the EP, in English. PE779.036