POLL: MAJORITY OF EUROPEANS AGAINST MERCOSUR DEAL.

A majority of European citizens are against the recently agreed trade deal with the four Mercosur countries, according to a YouGov poll commissioned by SumOfUs, a consumer group. Some 63 percent of the participants said they thought the deal should be stopped, while 24 percent said they don’t know and 14 percent were in favor. In total, more than 7,200 people in France, Germany, Belgium, Ireland, Austria and Spain took part in the survey.

Would you rather…? However, the interviewees were well softened up. Before asking whether participants were in favor or against stopping the Mercosur deal, the poll stated that while leading to cheaper beef in the bloc, the trade deal could also contribute to deforestation.

The poll also started off with an introduction to the deal and the “potential associated impacts it may have on the cost of beef in the EU and deforestation in the Amazon,” SumOfUs said in a press release.

Background: Several EU countries — including France, Ireland, Austria and Luxembourg — have threatened to oppose the deal owing to fears it might contribute to deforestation and go to the detriment of combating climate change.

“This poll proves that the vast majority of Europeans feel the same way: people don’t want cheaper beef at the cost of deforestation,” said David Norton, SumOfUs’ trade campaigns coordinator. The results of this poll should further encourage these governments to reject this trade deal that would be disastrous for people and the planet.”

Morning Trade Europe, 8 October 2019