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Donald Trump’s trade officials have accused Brussels of securing a “monopoly” for its meat and cheese in South America as part of its successful trade deal with Mercosur countries.
The EU and four South American countries will sign a trade deal on Saturday after 25 years of negotiations that would cut almost all tariffs on a combined market of 700 million people.
But U.S. officials have criticized the deal as hurting American farmers by banning them from selling products tied to certain places in European countries, such as prosciutto di Parma, feta cheese and champagne.
“This is a blatant attempt to limit competition and export opportunities for non-EU suppliers to trade fairly in this major dairy and processed meat market,” said a US official briefed on the negotiations.
“The deal would effectively give EU producers a monopoly on these products and lock out US producers.”
The objections come at a time when transatlantic trade tensions between Washington and Brussels are escalating over the bloc’s slow pace in cutting tariffs and regulations after a limited trade deal struck last year.
The Trump administration’s concerns about its agricultural exports follow a $12 billion bailout to American farmers last year after the sector was battered by the US president’s trade war.
The official said the US had repeatedly raised concerns with countries including Brazil and the EU, which would secure protection for more than 340 listed foods as part of trade negotiations.
A trade negotiator for a Mercosur country said the “geographical indication” for certain products was a long-standing problem for the Americans, but insisted they had not been contacted recently about the issue.
The complaints about the EU-Mercosur deal come as Washington makes an aggressive effort to secure geopolitical influence in the Western Hemisphere as part of its so-called Donroe Doctrine.
In recent weeks, Trump has launched a military operation to capture Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, warning that Cuba, Colombia and Mexico could all be next in America’s crosshairs.
A majority of European member states last week backed the terms of the deal, despite widespread opposition from farmers, who say their counterparts in Mercosur have lower standards for the treatment of animals and the use of pesticides.
The deal represents a new push by the EU to secure lucrative trade deals aimed at countering Trump’s aggressive protectionism and tariffs.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a veiled rebuke to Trump when EU member states approved it last week.
“At a time when trade and dependencies are being weaponized and the dangerous, transactional nature of the reality we live in is becoming increasingly grim, this historic trade deal is further proof that Europe is charting its own course and is a reliable partner,” she said.
She also shrugged off any idea that the EU should stay out of the Western Hemisphere, adding that it was “a testament to the endurance and strength of our relationship with Latin America, and one that will bring us closer together.”
The Commission declined to comment. The U.S. Trade Representative’s office declined to comment. Brazil’s Commerce Ministry declined to comment.
