The EU Commissioner for Trade, Maros Sefcovic, has "committed to travel to Ireland" to discuss the Mercusor trade agreement with Irish stakeholders, according to the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Peter Burke.

In response to parliamentary question about the Mercusor agreement, Minister Burke said he met with the commissioner last December and outlined his concerns over the possible unintended consequences of the trade agreement.

Last year, negotiations were finalised for a trade deal between the EU and Mercosur countries.

The controversial EU-Mercosur trade agreement would allow an additional 99,000t of beef to enter the EU tariff-free from Mercosur countries Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Bolivia.

Speaking about the trade agreement, Minister Burke said: "The government is committed to supporting free, fair, and open trade.

"Our EU membership makes us part of the growing network of EU free trade agreements, supporting more opportunity for exports and investment.

"We have always been clear, however, that such agreements must defend our most vulnerable sectors and that our farmers’ livelihoods must not be undermined through weak or ineffective environmental standards in other countries," he added.

At a meeting with Commissioner Sefcovic and the EU Commissioner for Agriculture and Food, Christophe Hansen, last month, Irish MEPs continued to back farmers in opposing the EU-Mercosur trade deal.

According to the EU Commission, the EU is Mercosur’s number one trade and investment partner. EU exports to Mercosur were €56 billion in goods in 2023 and €28 billion in services in 2022.

Commissioner Sefcovic said the deal is a “win-win agreement” which “paves the way for new export opportunities, for European companies, and for European farmers”.

“On beef, the EU already imports 200,000t per year. The additional market opening of a new quota of 99,000t will be within this limit,” Commissioner Sefcovic added.