Brazil’s government and exporters of meat, poultry, eggs, honey and other animal products responded Thursday after the European Union deadline expired, leading to a suspension of imports over concerns regarding the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial drugs in livestock.
Brazil’s Agriculture Ministry, under President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, said it would consider reciprocal measures if the two sides fail to reach a satisfactory resolution.
The European Union announced the suspension on Tuesday, with the measure taking effect Thursday.
The European Union announced in May that Brazil would be removed from its list of countries authorized to export certain animal products to the bloc. The EU argued that Brazil had not provided adequate assurances that its livestock production complied with European standards prohibiting antibiotic growth promoters and other restricted substances.
The Brazilian Association of Meat Exporting Industries (ABIEC), which provides technical assistance to the government during negotiations with the EU, said the decision was a concern for domestic producers and did not adequately reflect the quality of Brazilian beef exports, which are shipped to 170 countries.
The Confederation of Agriculture and Livestock of Brazil submitted a document Wednesday to Brazil’s foreign ministry stating that the European Union’s suspension constitutes a clear nullification and impairment of trade benefits legitimately expected by Brazil. The confederation further emphasized that the EU failed to acknowledge the rigor of Brazil’s health inspection system and called for measures to address what it described as an imbalance in trade relations.
Brazil “reserves the right to resort to appropriate instruments to ensure balanced trade conditions, including reciprocity measures provided for under the national legal framework, as well as relevant mechanisms established in the Mercosur-European Union agreement and the multilateral trading system,” the agriculture ministry said.
European Commission spokesperson Eva Hrncirova said Tuesday that a new list of countries complying with EU regulations on antimicrobial use would come into effect Thursday, prompting the action against Brazil.
Meat imports have been a point of contention in Europe over the free trade agreement signed in January between the EU and Mercosur, the South American trade bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. Brazil is the only Mercosur member currently affected by the EU’s suspension.
Brazil, the world’s largest beef exporter, shipped approximately 108,000 tons of beef valued at around $1 billion to the EU in 2025.
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