Forestry Protection and Trade – The Sustainability Knot in EU-MERCOSUR Negotiations

Negotiations of the EU-Mercosur Association Agreement (EMAA) are at a stalemate. The 2019 agreement in principle features a Trade and Sustainable Development which, however, does not correspond to the EU’s current commitment to ‘enhancing enforcement by means of trade sanctions’. To address the matter, the EU proposed in February 2023 a Joint Instrument. This instrument, still considered insufficient by many, was rebuked by Mercosur negotiators, who have stated they would not accept ‘even hinting at the application of sanctions’. The President of Paraguay has stated that, should there be no agreement this year, the block should walk away and negotiate with Asian countries instead.

This panel will then examine whether there is a solution for this ‘sustainability knot’ in EU-Mercosur negotiations. Speakers will assess the state of negotiations, consider how other trade agreements with Amazon countries are addressing the matter, and examine what mechanisms for forestry protection in the Amazon rainforest, an area larger than the European Union itself, look like on the ground.

Confirmed participants are:

• Renato Rosenberg (Director of Concessions, Brazilian Forest Service), discussing the challenges of sustainable forestry protection in Brazil
• Professor Kathleen Claussen (Professor, Georgetown University), discussing forestry protection in the US – Peru Trade Agreement
• Pedro Gazzinelli Colares (Mission of Brazil to the European Union)
• Dr Geraldo Vidigal (Assistant Professor, University of Amsterdam), discussing the state of EU-Mercosur negotiations.
• Professor Christina Eckes will chair the panel