Mercosur and the EU Deforestation Regulation

ClientEarth asserts that the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement undermines the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) by allowing Mercosur countries to influence EU law enforcement and by creating a dispute settlement mechanism that could be used to challenge EUDR implementation. The organization warns that these concessions may force EU Member States to act inconsistently with their legal obligations to ensure deforestation-free imports.

• The EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement may compromise the independence of EU Member State enforcement authorities by allowing Mercosur governments to intervene in the implementation of the EUDR. Specifically, Articles 54, 55, and 56 of the Trade and Sustainable Development Annex would require Member States to facilitate access for Mercosur governments to national authorities and to use information provided by those countries.
• Article 55 of the Agreement suggests that EU authorities should follow assurances from Mercosur countries regarding the legal compliance of their products, which conflicts with the EUDR requirement for competent authorities to conduct their own independent assessments.
• The Agreement's requirement for the European Commission to give 'favourable consideration' to the Mercosur Agreement during the EUDR country benchmarking process is viewed as inconsistent with the EUDR's mandate for an objective and transparent assessment.
• The Agreement includes a broad 'rebalancing mechanism' and dispute settlement procedure that could allow Mercosur countries to challenge EUDR implementation as a 'measure' that impairs trade benefits, even for legislation not fully implemented at the time of the agreement's conclusion.
• There is a significant risk that the EUDR's country benchmarking mechanism, specifically the classification of a Mercosur country as 'high risk', could trigger a trade dispute under the Agreement, potentially exerting political pressure on the Commission's assessment.

APA

ClientEarth (2024). Mercosur and the EU Deforestation Regulation. https://www.clientearth.org/media/tv0obqhn/mercosur-and-eudr_inconsistencies-and-legal-conflicts.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Mercosur and the EU Deforestation Regulation. 2024. https://www.clientearth.org/media/tv0obqhn/mercosur-and-eudr_inconsistencies-and-legal-conflicts.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=ClientEarth |title=Mercosur and the EU Deforestation Regulation |date=December 2024 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/tv0obqhn/mercosur-and-eudr_inconsistencies-and-legal-conflicts.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{clientearth2024mercosur, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Mercosur and the EU Deforestation Regulation}}, publisher = {ClientEarth}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/tv0obqhn/mercosur-and-eudr_inconsistencies-and-legal-conflicts.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }