Soon, Brazil will no longer be authorized to export products of animal origin to the EU. The measure, decided by the European Commission, concerns a wide range of categories, from cattle to poultry, through eggs, aquaculture, honey and other animal derivatives.
The basis of the decision is the country’s failure to adapt to European regulations on the use of antimicrobials in livestock, a fundamental requirement to appear in the list of third countries that the EU authorizes for export to its internal market, reserved exclusively for those who demonstrate health standards equivalent to those of the EU.
Brazil, not being fully compliant with these standards, was therefore removed from the list. As Eva Hrnčiřová, spokesperson for the European Commission for Health, explained:
The Commission confirms that Brazil is not included in the list, which means that it will no longer be able to export goods (both live animals intended for food production and derived products) to the European Union, such as cattle, horses, poultry, eggs, aquaculture and honey, starting from 3 September.
However, the block is not permanent, Brazil may in fact be reinstated in the list if it manages to demonstrate full compliance with European regulations. As the spokeswoman herself stated:
Once compliance has been demonstrated, the European Union will be able to authorize or resume exports.
What are antimicrobials and why does the EU restrict them
The central issue of the decision concerns the use of antimicrobials in intensive farming. In the veterinary field, these substances — including antibiotics and similar molecules — are used to treat infections in animals, but in some production systems they also end up being used to promote growth or increase the yield of livestock farms (as in the case of Brazil), a practice that the European Union has banned for years.
The reasons for this ban are linked to two risks that are closely connected to each other. The first is antimicrobial resistance: the excessive or improper use of antibiotics in animals favors the development of resistant bacteria, making some drugs less effective even for humans. The second concerns public health more generally, as these resistant bacteria can transmit through the food chain, increasing the risk of difficult-to-treat infections and reducing the effectiveness of available medical treatments.
To address both issues in an integrated way, the EU adopts the “One Health” approach, a vision that inextricably links human health, animal health and environmental protection.
Brazil’s reaction
The decision sparked a strong reaction from Brasilia. The Brazilian government said it was surprised by the provision and announced its intention to contest it, asking Brussels for clarification and evaluating possible countermeasures, considering the block potentially harmful to its agricultural exports.
Overall, the stop could put at risk more than 2 billion dollars of agri-food exports, considering that in 2025 the European Union had purchased animal proteins worth around 1.8 billion dollars from Brazil, confirming itself as the second largest Brazilian meat market after China.
The production sector has also distanced itself from the European decision. The Brazilian Association of Animal Proteins claimed that the sector already complies with EU legislation on the use of antimicrobials, while the Association of Meat Exporting Industries assured that the supply chain is working with the Ministry of Agriculture to adapt to Brussels’ requests. A European technical mission is expected in Brazil in the second half of the year to complete the verification process.
However, the European Commission reiterated that the exclusion is not definitive: Brazil can be reinstated in the list as soon as it demonstrates full compliance with European standards. The provision also arrives at a delicate moment in relations between the EU and Latin America, a few weeks after the start of the provisional application of the EU-Mercosur agreement, the commercial agreement involving Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay and which aims to facilitate agricultural trade between the two areas. In Europe, however, concerns remain strong about differences in production standards, particularly in the health and environmental fields.
Sources: Ansa / Reuters
