Stop EU-Mercosur coalition statement
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Stop EU Mercosur | 15 March 2021
Stop EU-Mercosur coalition statement
We, the undersigned organisations, call on political leaders on both sides of the Atlantic to stop the EU-Mercosur trade agreement.
The EU-Mercosur agreement belongs to an out-dated 20th Century model of trade that has failed the planet: it serves corporate interests at the expense of planetary boundaries and animal welfare, and drives untenable social inequalities.
The goals and core elements of this agreement are in direct opposition to climate action, food sovereignty and upholding human rights and animal well-being. The FTA will further incentivise the destruction and biodiversity collapse of the Amazon, the Cerrado and the Gran Chaco through the expansion of livestock and ethanol quotas, perpetuating an extractive model of agriculture exemplified by overgrazing, expansion of feedlots and chemically intensive monocultures. It would give a strong political signal that horrific human rights abuses linked to the supply chains implicated in the deal are acceptable.
The trade deal will destroy livelihoods in both Europe and in South America, hurting family farms and workers. Trading agricultural commodities for polluting cars, the deal poses an imminent threat to industrial jobs in Mercosur countries. It perpetuates the path dependency of South American economies as cheap exporters of raw materials obtained through destruction of vital natural resources rather than fostering the development of sound, diversified and resilient economies.
For a viable future, a 21st century trade model must support rather than undermine efforts to create socially just and ecologically resilient societies based on the principles of solidarity, protection of human rights and our planetary boundaries. Citizens across Europe and South America are uniting against the EU-Mercosur agreement and working towards a better future. We, the undersigned organizations, are part of this movement that demands governments stop the EU-Mercosur agreement!
Click here for the list of signatories
