Amazon fires could threaten trade deal with Mercosur: EU

The European Union (EU) would find it difficult to ratify the trade deal made with countries of South America, including Brazil, as long as the Amazon rain forest is allowed to continue to burn, European Council president Donald Tusk has warned, according to a report by www.brusselstimes.com.

Tusk was referring to the treaty signed with Mercosur, an organisation of South American nations Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay, founded in Paraguay in 1991.

The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Mercosur and the EU was agreed this year, and opens up all of European trade and 90 per cent of Mercosur trade.

But the FTA has been heavily criticised especially by Europe's farmers, who argue that their interests have been sold out to open up the South American market to Europe's industrial products.

Now, led by France, the EU stands on the verge of refusing to ratify the FTA based on the actions of the Brazilian government to tackle the Amazon crisis. Without ratification by all of the members states of the EU, the FTA cannot come into force.

"Of course we support the EU/Mercosur agreement," Tusk said, speaking at the opening of the G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz.

"But it is hard to imagine a harmonious ratification process by the European nations as long as the Brazilian government allows the destruction of the green lungs of the planet."

When the FTA with Mercosur was initially agreed - albeit after 20 years of discussions - French president Emmanuel Macron promised France would only agree to ratify if Brazil met certain environmental conditions.