Filtered liberalisation and double standards
The agri-food impacts, environmental risks, and political economy of the EU–Mercosur agreement
Abstract
The EU–Mercosur agreement debate is not merely about tariffs. It concerns how market opening interacts with EU environmental, animal-welfare and food-safety standards, and how gains and losses are distributed across member states, product lines and farm types. Recent literature suggests small aggregate effects for the EU but sizeable distributional consequences: beef, poultry, sugar (and partly rice) appear more exposed, while competitive segments (e.g. dairy and pigmeat) may benefit from new export opportunities. “Filtered liberalisation” (tariff-rate quotas, SPS and conformity regimes, sustainability provisions) can mute direct income shocks, yet it does not eliminate a central governance paradox: the perceived gap between strict internal rules and external enforcement. This paper provides a mechanism-oriented synthesis of key impact channels and policy implications.
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