Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon has said that grave concerns remain in relation to the Mercosur trade deal which could potentially be tabled for a vote this Friday.

The minister told the Irish Farmers Journal ahead of his trip to Brussels on Wednesday that he will continue to articulate these concerns with Agriculture Commissioner Cristophe Hansen this week.

While 2026 will see a number of policy moves in Brussels that will impact farmers, it will be a crucial one for both CAP and Mercosur.

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Topics to be thrashed out in Brussels this week include trade, CAP simplification, input costs, regulatory burdens outside of the CAP and competitiveness of EU farming.

Beef production, Minister Heydon said, is a very sensitive sector in Ireland which is vulnerable to negative impacts from the Mercosur agreement.

“The Government has been actively engaged with our EU counterparts to voice Ireland’s concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur agreement,” the minister explained.

“The Government still also has concerns on the preferential access being given to Mercosur if South American farmers are not subject to the same sustainable farming standards as our own farmers.”

Concerns, he added, remain around production and health standards in relation to imports to the EU that undermine Irish farming.

“We need to a level playing field. Our Programme for Government commitment remains: work with like-minded EU countries to stand up for Irish farmers and defend our interests in opposing the current Mercosur trade deal,” he said.