In the Shadow of the World Cup – EU Parliament Gives Green Light to Another Trade Agreement with Latin America

Over 80 Organizations Called for a Halt to the EU-Mexico Trade Agreement

While the World Cup is still underway in Mexico, European lawmakers voted today in favor of a trade agreement between the Latin American country and the EU that subordinates environmental protection and human rights to unilateral corporate interests.

More than 80 civil society organizations from Latin America and the EU called on European lawmakers in a statement not to respond to geopolitical pressure with a bad trade agreement. They argued that such an agreement would only deepen the unequal relationships between the economic regions. Sustainable development? Not a chance!

Bettina Müller, trade and investment policy analyst at the Berlin-based NGO PowerShift, explains:

“The trade agreement between the EU and Mexico falls significantly short of other agreements the EU has recently concluded with countries in the region. Instead of genuine modernization, the agreement primarily expands privileges for corporations. Environmental and human rights standards remain non-binding, while companies are granted very specific access rights, for example in the area of public procurement in Mexico. At the same time, tariffs on agricultural products are being further reduced. This weakens small-scale farming in Mexico. Furthermore, the agreement makes it easier for European companies to access Mexican raw materials. These are just a few of the reasons why PowerShift and numerous other organizations agree: This agreement is not modern, but rather outdated. It exacerbates existing inequalities between the economic regions and is toxic to the environment and our climate. We need more cooperation with Mexico—but not in the form of this unjust and harmful trade agreement.”

Jan Königshausen, Advisor on Indigenous Peoples at the Society for Threatened Peoples (STP), adds:

“The EU is celebrating the new free trade agreement with Mexico as a forward-looking step in economic cooperation. In doing so, it is ignoring the resulting social and environmental costs. European companies stand to benefit, while Indigenous communities are being increasingly displaced from their territories. At the same time, the ecological diversity of the coastal region is suffering. The Yoreme-Mayo in the Mexican state of Sinaloa are tirelessly defending their territory against the construction of an ammonia plant by the Swiss-German company Proman in Topolobampo. The agreement legitimizes the exploitation of resources in the long term. Indigenous Peoples are facing the loss of their territories and threats to their ways of life and livelihoods. Communities that resist are being intimidated. ”

The full statement opposing the agreement can be found here: https://europeantradejustice.org/stop-the-modernised-global-and-free-trade-agreement-between-the-european-union-and-mexico/

This press release was translated from German to English using AI. If you come across errors or ambiguities, please contact us at 65]G378o6DD6CA.