Brazil & Southern Cone - June 2026

Less than a fortnight after the free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and South America’s Mercosur bloc [EB-26-02] took provisional effect on 1 May, Brussels announced plans to ban Brazilian meat imports from September onwards, citing non-compliance with food safety standards. The move suggests that trade-related disputes could continue despite the landmark trade deal.

On 12 May the European Commission announced that, starting 3 September, Brazil will be removed from the EU’s list of countries authorised to export animal products to the bloc on the grounds it did not meet EU standards on the use of antimicrobials in livestock. The EU prohibits the use of antibiotics that promote animal growth and that are reserved for human infections. Brussels argued that Brazil has failed to demonstrate compliance with those standards.

The ban applies to beef, pork, chicken, fish, and derivative products such as eggs and honey, although it could be lifted once compliance is demonstrated. The news was not entirely surprising as the issue had been discussed before in bilateral meetings. In fact, the Brazilian government in April had already issued an executive order banning some antimicrobials used as animal performance enhancers, but the EU deemed this insufficient.

Still, the timing of the move did raise questions over the prospect for European and South American trade, coming only two weeks after the EU-Mercosur trade agreement provisionally entered into force at the start of May. The deal created one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering 700m consumers, slashing duties on 90% of goods over a 10-to-15-year horizon, and opening the EU to an additional 99,000 tonnes of South American beef under reduced tariffs.

The EU-Mercosur agreement itself remains on shaky legal ground. It provisionally entered into force pending a challenge before the EU Court of Justice, which could take up to two years to issue a ruling. Meanwhile, Poland filed an additional legal challenge against the deal in May. In addition, the European Parliament has yet to give its formal approval.

The Irish Farmers’ Association (IFA) celebrated the antimicrobial ban as vindication, calling it “an important first step” and noting that it followed an IFA and Irish Farmers Journal investigation into unregulated antibiotic use in Brazil.

For European farming lobbies bruised by the Mercosur deal, the ban offers at least a partial political consolation – and a lever to push for stricter enforcement of equal production standards going forward.

After the ban was announced, the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was swift to defend its agricultural health credentials, pointing to its “robust health system of internationally recognized quality”. At the time of writing, the EU has not rolled back on its decision, despite the diplomatic efforts by Brazilian officials.

On 8 June Vice President Geraldo Alckmin attended an agribusiness sector event in Bahia state where he insisted that the Lula administration is doing all it can to demonstrate that Brazilian meat products are up to standard and reverse the ban. The following day, national daily O Globo cited the European Commission spokesperson Olof Gill as suggesting that the ball is now in Brazil’s court, saying that he believed Brazil has the industrial capacity and knowledge to meet the EU’s sanitary requirements.

Limited impact

According to the figures of Brazilian meat exporters’ association (Abiec), Brazil is the world’s largest beef exporter, registering a total export volume of 3.5m tonnes (t) and an export value of US$18bn in 2025, up from 2.91m t and US$12.9bn the previous year. The EU, while an important premium market, accounts for a relatively small slice of the Brazil’s total beef trade, representing 5.1% of the total volume Brazil exported in 2025 and 5.9% of beef sector revenues. The top export destinations for Brazilian beef remain China and the US, with both countries combined accounting for over 50% of Brazilian beef exports.