EU-Mercosur Deal Stalled: Parliament Sends Trade Pact to Court, Could Take Two Years to Resolve

The European Union’s landmark free trade agreement with the Mercosur bloc - comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay - may face delays of up to two years following a vote in the European Parliament to send the deal to the EU Court of Justice for a legal review. The agreement, signed on Saturday, still requires ratification by all EU member states before it can officially take effect.

Opposition to the pact is led by France, the EU’s largest agricultural producer, which argues that the deal would sharply increase imports of cheap beef, sugar, and poultry, undermining domestic farmers who have repeatedly protested....