Spanish farmers congregated on Monday in the capital Madrid to protest the recently agreed-upon EU-Mercosur agreement, expressing concern that the deal would significantly impact not only local farmers but also others throughout Europe.
Responding to a call from the Asaja and COAG unions, farmers gathered outside the Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Ministry to protest the agreement between the bloc and Mercosur, the Latin American bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.
The unions voiced concern that the agreement would create inequality of opportunity in the sector in Spain.
According to the farmers, the production cost in Mercosur countries is far less than that of Spain, and importing the products could have a significant impact on both Spanish and European farmers.
This deal will result in irreparable losses in Spain and the closure of businesses, said the unions.
On Dec. 6, the EU and four Mercosur countries reached a political agreement on a "ground-breaking" partnership agreement to increase bilateral trade and investment while lowering tariff and non-tariff trade barriers, notably for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Some EU member states have already voiced their opposition to the agreement.
