STRASBOURG, Dec 16 (Reuters) - EU lawmakers backed on Tuesday tighter controls on imports of agricultural products resulting from a potential trade agreement with South American bloc Mercosur, potentially meeting the complaints of critics of the deal.

The vote comes a day after France teamed up with Italy to push for a vote on the deal to be delayed. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen had intended to fly to Brazil on Saturday to sign the agreement, but this requires backing by EU members.

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The European Union and the bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay reached agreement last December to create the EU's largest ever trade accord, some 25 years after negotiations were launched.

The European Commission presented the accord for approval in September and sought to soften opposition by adding a mechanism that would allow Mercosur preferential access for some farm products, such as beef, poultry and sugar, to be suspended.

It said the trigger for launching an investigation should be if the import volumes rose by more than 10% per year or prices fell by that amount in one or more EU members.

However, the European Parliament voted on Tuesday for a lower trigger level of 5%, compared with a three-year average of imports, as well as for shorter investigations to introduce safeguards sooner. They also want safeguards to apply if Mercosur farm imports do not comply with EU production standards, something France has demanded.

The changes mean representatives from the parliament will have to negotiate a compromise with counterparts from the Council, the grouping of EU governments, which had backed the 10% figure. These are expected to start as early as Wednesday.

https://www.reuters.com/business/eu-lawmakers-seek-tighten-controls-mercosur-farm-imports-2025-12-16/