Dutch parliament asks for veto of Mercosur-EU agreement and cites Brazil: “Bad for the Amazon”

The Dutch Parliament decided by a majority this Tuesday (7) to urge the Dutch government to block the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mercosur in Brussels, due to the alleged risk of unfair competition that farmers in the country would run if trade agreements included agricultural products.

Dutch MP Esther Ouwehand, from the Animal Party, praised the fact that the majority of Parliament, including one of the government’s coalition partners (the Christian Union), wanted to put “an end to the free trade agreement with Brazil, which it is extremely bad for the Amazon, the animals and the Dutch farmers”.

“The time for this type of nefarious free trade treaties is over,” added the parliamentarian, who presented the parliamentary motion that asks for the blocking of the Mercosur treaty if it includes agreements on agricultural issues.

Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s Liberals (VVD) and Christian Democrats (CDA) voted against the motion.

The Dutch government has yet to take an official position and has said it will do so when the European Commission presents the final treaty document to member states, but the parliamentary majority urges it to “make it very clear to the European Commission and at meetings of trade ministers and Agriculture that the Netherlands will block in any case an EU-Mercosur treaty that includes agriculture”.

The free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur was frozen during the term of former President Jair Bolsonaro. After the return to power of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, negotiations and bilateral contacts were reactivated.