Name: EU lawmakers vote to launch legal challenge to Mercosur trade deal | REUTERS
Uploaded: 2026-01-21T16:58:48.000Z
Duration: 1 min 25 s
Description: Thousands of YouTube videos with English-Chinese subtitles! Now you can learn to understand native speakers, expand your vocabulary, and improve your pronunciation...

The European Union's trade deal with South America faces a hitch.

EU lawmakers voted Wednesday to challenge the agreement in the blocked top court.

The move could delay the deal by two years and even derail it.

The EU signed its largest ever trade pact with MERCOSUR members Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on Saturday, although it still needs approval before it can take effect.

France is the EU's largest agricultural producer and leads opponents to the deal.

They argue it will raise imports of cheap beef, sugar and poultry.

They fear this would undercut domestic farmers who staged protests.

A group of lawmakers put forward a parliamentary motion Wednesday.

It aims to ask the EU Court of Justice to rule on whether the agreement can be applied before full ratification by all member states.

And it wants to see whether its provisions restrict the EU's ability to see environmental and consumer health policies.

The court often takes around two years to deliver such opinions.

The EU could still apply the pact provisionally, pending the ruling and parliamentary approval if referred to the court, but

it could be politically difficult given the likely backlash.

Supporters including Germany and Spain point to US President Donald Trump's disruption of global trade.

They argue the deal is needed to offset business loss to US tariffs and to lower reliance on China by securing access to critical minerals.