Trade deal rejected: Greens say Habeck and Co. on Mercosur

The trade deal was rejected
Greens stand against Habeck and Co on Mercosur.

Sebastian Hult, Karlsruhe
November 25, 2023, 6:32 pm

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The federal government has been fighting for months for a trade deal with Latin America, led by Federal Economy Minister Habeck and his Secretary of State Brantner. But basic agitation. At the party conference in Karlsruhe, delegates drafted a change to the European electoral plan.

Few countries have received as many visits from German government representatives as Brazil in the past twelve months. Since the election of President Lula, the country has not only been involved in a conflict with Russia, but has also been a key partner for Federal Economy Minister Robert Habeck’s central plan: to conclude the Mercosur trade agreement – with major economies. Brazil and Argentina as major partners – as much as possible in the current year. But the party’s own base is resisting: at the federal party conference in Karlsruhe, 53 percent of delegates voted for a proposed change in the European electoral system. It now says: “We reject the EU-Mercosur agreement in its current form.”

If finally adopted on Sunday, Green federal ministers will not be bound by the electoral plan, especially since the deal will be finalized by the EU and member states can only ratify the decision. For Germany: the federal government, not the Bundestag. The referendum will not ease the relationship between the federal government or the party base and leadership. Ultimately, Green Party members should use this plan to go into the European election campaign in the spring, with a paper that contradicts the actions of their own central ministers.

The Mercosur vote marks the first major opposition after federal leaders Ricardo Lang and Omit Nuripour were re-elected on Friday with 80 percent each and federal ministers Habeck and Annalena Baerbach received heavy applause. An emotional debate is expected later in the evening when it comes to the Greens’ asylum policy.

Permissions options are required

The revised program text now calls for renegotiation “to achieve fundamental changes for a fair, environmental and post-colonial agreement”. The authors specifically argued that trade preferences granted could be suspended as a form of concession if a partner state ignores its social, environmental and climate responsibilities. The deal reflects the concerns of advocates of changes that could fuel deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, such as growing soy products for export to the European Union. Ahead of the trade fair in Karlsruhe, activists from the environmental organization Greenpeace, natural allies for many party members, called for a transition from, among others, the Green Party.

Before the vote, Green Party leader Katharina Droge and State Secretary Franziska Brandtner, responsible for Habeck, urgently warned against changing the original text. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbach argued that “trade agreements between value-based partners, between democracies and Latin American democracies, can only work, but are more than just a trade agreement.” Europe must build new alliances in the global struggle with autocracies.

China statt EU?

“We don’t have an argument about this, we shouldn’t force ourselves to have one,” Beerbock said, only to discover hours later that the party actually has deep differences on the issue. Bundestag members Kathrin Henneberger and Karl Bär spoke in favor of the amendment. The votes were so close that the ballots had to be counted. From Brantner’s point of view, the requirement of the revised text is difficult to implement in practice: it will not allow the Europeans to say how to protect the rainforests, while the parliamentary government has said that there are no virgin forests in Europe. Secretary.

Drage and Brandner warned against leaving Latin America without a trade agreement with China, which does not take environmental and social standards into account in its economic relations. The Mercosur deal has also come into question after populist Javier Milei was elected as Argentina’s president. Apart from Argentina and Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay belong to Mercosur states. In 2019, after nearly two decades of negotiations, a basic agreement was reached aimed at facilitating mutual market access and investments.

There is continued opposition to Mercosur in Europe, for example in France and Austria. The German Green Party leadership has been a vocal critic of the deal for years, but since joining the federal government, they believe they have been able to negotiate significant changes in terms of environmental protection and social standards. This is not enough for 53 percent of party conference delegates.