After a year marked with volatility, trade disputes and continued erosion of faith in rules based trade, panelists at the Canadian Crops Conference, held in Toronto in March, explained challenges in the international trade order and what Canada can do to improve its standing.

How can Canada stand out in a globalized market?

“The rest of the world, the rest of the sectors of the global economy, are finally getting to know what it felt like to be agriculture for a number of years,” said Jeff Mahon, director of StrategyCorp.

He pointed to non-tariff barriers and the weaponization of trade.

Canada has sought to overcome challenges through diversification, but Mahon said this may not be as easy as some are making it out to be.

“This whole movement is driven by, you know, roughly 75 per cent of our exports going to the United States. But the last I checked, Canadian agriculture is already pretty diversified,” he said.

“Telling Canadian agriculture it needs to diversify further is like telling a cayenne pepper it needs to be spicy.”

The questions are — how Canada can grow its market share and how reliant Canada should be on bigger markets like China and India. Mahon said it will be important to recognize there may not be alternatives to those markets and Canada will likely need to continue trading in both.

Win-win thinking

In a global market currently favouring buyers, Mahon said Canada may need to find new strategies to stand out.

“In some cases, that might mean selling more processed or value-added goods,” He said. “In other cases, particularly when we’re looking at new markets in developing countries, we might want to think about bringing a bigger Canadian value proposition to them,” he said.

For example, instead of just offering commodities, Canaa can offer access to a network of capability and research.

This is already happening — for example, Prime Minister Mark Carney’s recent trip to India saw the promise of a Canada-India pulse research centre.

“Now you’re using empathy,” Mahon said. “You’re going to a developing country, India, and you’re saying, ‘what do you need from us?’”

In a country like India, where nutritional security is a concern, Mahon said this type of win-win-thinking could be part of Canada’s strength as a partner.

He added that he’d heard a former Indonesian ambassador suggest Canada could help countries build processing capacity, leading to “mandatory supply chains” with Canadian exports at the centre.

Mahon said he would like to see governments rephrase requests to industry to diversify and rather ask what the industry needs to grow market share.

“Diversification and growing exports isn’t going to work unless Canada fixes some of the supply side problems,” he said.

These may not be entirely an industry issue.

“The government might want to look in the mirror a little bit more if it wants to be able to figure out how to help grow agricultural exports.”

Barriers within international trade

One barrier for Canadian agri-food trade in the EU has been the challenge of adapting to regulatory frameworks. The effects of European policies, like the Green Deal, Farm to Fork strategy, can sometimes be felt in Canada.

For example, The European Commission has proposed a bill that would effectively set pesticide tolerances at zero on imported grains, oilseeds, pulses and other agricultural commodities if those pesticides haven’t been approved for use in the EU.

The EU isn’t a primary destination for Canadian grain, oilseeds and pulses, but exports can be significant some years.

European politicians have argued that this levels the playing field so growers outside of Europe don’t have a competative advantage.

The Canadian government is lobbying for predictability said Greg MacDonald, a counsellor with the Mission of Canada to the EU.

Prime Minister Mark Carney is seen as a close friend in many countries, and now the government is attempting to leverage that, MacDonald said.

People shouldn’t think the EU is “closed for business on agriculture trade,” he added.

MacDonald suggested Canada could continue to work with the EU on regulatory alignment.

“How do we make the regulatory frameworks work for Canada with the broad political overview we have that we’re the trusted and reliable partner, and the EU calls us and asks, how can Canada provide product X?”

A loss of faith in rules-based trade

The past year has also seen attacks on the role of rules-based trade.

Edwini Kessie, director of the agriculture and commodities division at the World Trade Organization (WTO) said he felt the core principles of his organization are “under attack.”

He said the non-discrimination principle and the security and predictability of market access have come into question for some.

“These have been the binding core principles of the WTO, but I think increasingly there are questions as to the effectiveness of the WTO rules in creating a level playing field,” Kessie said.

“We see in the EU specifically, regulatory and policy developments that may be shifting away from some core tenants of WTO rules, which adds to uncertainty in the grains and oilseeds trade,” MacDonald said.

Kessie said the solution is not for the global trade system to turn its back on the existing rules and encouraged stakeholders not to give up on the WTO.

“There are changes which have to be made,” he said. “And I do hope that the WTO members will come together and effect the real changes, which will strengthen the rules-based multilateral trading system.”

“The current prosperity that we are witnessing the world is because of the rules-based system,” he said, “so we need to strengthen it.”

WTO ministerial talks in Yaounde, Camaroon at the end of March struggled to make headway on questions of reform and ultimately broke down after the group could not agree on renewing a moratorium on duties for electronic transmissions like digital streaming.

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In its first projections for the 2026 harvest, MARS also forecast the EU’s average rapeseed yield at 3.22 t/ha, down three per cent from last year, while for winter barley it put the EU 2026 yield at 5.13 t/ha, ten per cent lower than last year.

Soft wheat is the EU’s most‑produced cereal and rapeseed its main oilseed. Other forecasters also expect lower wheat and rapeseed yields in the EU this year after bumper crops last summer.

Winter crops across Europe were gradually restarting vegetative growth in generally favourable conditions, supported by adequate soil moisture and mild late-winter temperatures, MARS said in a report.

Excessive rainfall in parts of south-western and eastern Europe caused temporary waterlogging and local flooding, while severe February frost episodes may have caused local damage in parts of Poland, Ukraine and the Baltic states, it said.

Emerging precipitation deficits in north‑eastern Europe required monitoring as crops’ water needs will be increasing soon, it added.

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In a monthly report, the consultancy put EU soft wheat exports at 27.1 million metric tons, down from 27.6 million last month – which would still exceed the 2024/25 low level, when a poor harvest hampered French shipments.

“To reflect the immediate impact of the war in the Middle East, we are initially revising down our forecasts for European wheat and barley exports to countries in the region,” it said in the report.

The consultancy’s cuts in EU export forecasts to the region were for 250,000 tons of soft wheat and 100,000 tons of barley, Benoit Fayaud, senior grain analyst at Expana, said separately.

At a global level, it revised soft wheat imports to the Middle East in 2025/26 by 1.6 million tons, corn imports by 1.7 million tons and barley imports by 500,000 tons.

Trade flows during the first part of the campaign were very dynamic and two months of slowdown would ultimately have only a moderate impact on overall volumes for the current marketing year, Expana said in its report.

“If the conflict were to last longer, or if, for example, energy prices were to remain permanently higher, and consequently cereal prices would follow, then we would be forced to further reduce our demand estimate, not only in the Middle East, but also globally,” Fayaud said.

For 2026/27, the consultancy raised its forecast for the bloc’s soft wheat crop to 128.6 million tons, up from 128.3 million last month, and increased its barley outlook to 52.3 million tons from 52.2 million last month.

By contrast, Expana cut its 2026 maize production forecast in the bloc to 57.9 million tons, down from 58.3 million last month, citing a downward revision for France.

— Reporting by Sybille de La Hamaide

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The European Union is taking an increasingly precautionary approach to agriculture innovation, removing about half of the crop protection products available to its farmers over the past 10 years.

The EU is now under pressure by its farmers to use pesticide reciprocity to block food imports produced using those same banned products.

“Depending on reciprocity’s implementation specifics as the policy comes into force in spring 2026 and then expands, all grain exports to the EU (cereal, oilseed and pulse crops) could be restricted or halted,” the council stated in a recent white paper on the subject.

“Allowing it to proceed unchecked will also impede Canada’s broader trade diversification efforts because many countries around the world are influenced by EU trade policies.”

WHY IT MATTERS: The EU has been identified as one of Canada’s top markets for trade diversification.

The council is calling on the federal government to establish and lead a coalition of like-minded countries to push back on the EU’s pesticide reciprocity measures.

It is also calling on Ottawa to use existing mechanisms in the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) and World Trade Organization to address trade irritants related to reciprocity on its own.

On Dec. 16, the European Commission published a proposed regulatory simplification package that includes amendments to the EU’s pesticide maximum residue limits law and regulation.

The proposal would allow the EU to set MRLs at the limit of detection, which is effectively zero tolerance, for substances no longer approved in the EU.

“We feel this issue is becoming more and more urgent,” said Mac Ross, vice-president of trade policy and crop protection with the Canada Grains Council.

Hazard vs. risk assessment

The EU’s approach to regulation changed after it implemented the European Green Deal and Farm to Fork Strategy.

It departed from internationally accepted risk assessment principals and moved to a hazard-based system.

“Broadly, this means regulating pesticides on the basis of hazard alone, without considering the extent of exposure, which the rest of the world’s regulators consistently do,” the council said in its white paper.

That is why only two new active ingredients have been approved by the EU in the past decade.

The neonicotinoid precedent

This new approach led to a ban of neonicotinoid insecticides followed by the decision to slash MRLs that apply to neonic residues on imported food effective March 2026.

“Neonic insecticides are the first innovation targeted, but the EU has clearly articulated there will be others,” said the council.

In its notification to the WTO, the EU acknowledged that neonics are safe for consumers and that the ban was strictly to protect pollinators.

Ross said that is the first time a country or bloc has changed its MRLs based on environmental concerns rather than food safety concerns.

Global pushback and legal hurdles

Global legal action to get an injunction on that policy change is ongoing, but the EU still intends to move forward with the controversial policy.

The EU’s pesticide reciprocity strategy has triggered almost 900 Specific Trade Concerns at the WTO filed by more than 30 countries.

Farmers around the world are being confronted by the choice of either losing the EU market or not applying pesticides that have been approved by their own governments.

Ross said the EU’s new neonic MRLs will not have a big impact on Canada’s ability to continue using those active ingredients.

“Those actives we use as seed treatments,” he said.

“We’re not worried about any detectible residues or anything like that.”

What he is concerned about is the precedent it sets. It will be the first time the EU’s pesticide reciprocity rules take effect, but not the last.

Strategy for the future

That is why the council wants Canada to lead the charge in forming a coalition to fight back in unison against the EU’s reciprocity regulations.

“This group’s first short-term priority should be to advocate that EU import tolerances for agricultural products must be determined solely on the basis of dietary risk rather than the introduction of environmental criteria,” stated the council.

The coalition should also try to achieve MRL alignment on pesticides using an approach based on “scientific rigour and commercial realities.”

The council also wants Canada to push back on its own. Canada’s concerns with the EU’s reciprocity measures should be added to the agendas for upcoming CETA and WTO committee meetings.

“At least show them that they can’t just move forward with this approach unimpeded and unchecked,” said Ross.

He said now is the time to speak up and talk about how divergence away from science-based risk assessment can disrupt trade at a time when Canada is attempting to double non-U.S. exports over the next decade.

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For winter soft wheat, France’s main cereal crop, the ministry now expects the 2026 area to reach 4.59 million hectares (11.3 million acres), up slightly from its initial projection of 4.56 million in December, it said on Tuesday.

The revised estimate was up 2.8 per cent from the area harvested in 2025, though 0.3 per cent below the average of the past five years, the ministry said in a report.

For winter rapeseed, the country’s largest oilseed crop, it raised its estimate for this year’s area to 1.37 million hectares (3.39 million acres) from 1.34 million projected in December.

That was now eight per cent above the 2025 area and 11.6 per cent above the five-year average.

Analysts have anticipated an increase in rapeseed planting in France and across Europe given more favourable prices than for cereals, as well as strong yields in last summer’s harvest.

Favourable autumn weather had also raised expectations that the soft wheat area would hold steady, despite falling prices.

Among other winter crops, the ministry pegged the 2026 winter barley area at 1.26 million hectares (3.11 million acres), compared to 1.23 million previously and up 5.3 per cent on the year.

For winter durum wheat, however, the estimated 2026 area was reduced slightly, to 196,000 hectares (484,327 acres) from 199,000 forecast in December. That left the projected area marginally below last year’s level and nearly 16 per cent below the five-year average.

Wheat and rapeseed are almost entirely sown as winter crops in France, whereas barley production includes a significant portion of spring-grown crop.

Winter crops were generally in good condition so far, the ministry added.

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The rush of demand for European feed barley has provided relief for producers struggling with low prices in a heavily supplied global grain market.

Reversing the usual price structure, feed barley is attracting better prices than milling wheat and similar rates to malting barley, used for beer ingredient malt.

“It’s a strange place for the market,” said Brent Atthill, head of consultancy RMI Analytics, citing a “perfect storm” of strong feed demand in the Middle East and China, limited availability of Black Sea barley and weak brewing demand in Europe.

The European Commission increased its monthly forecast of EU barley exports in 2025/26 by nine per cent last week to 11 million metric tons, which would be the highest since 2015/16.

In France, early-season shipments to China have been followed by steady demand from North Africa and the Middle East. Loadings include a rare cargo for Turkey, LSEG data shows.

Feed barley likely to revert to cheaper grain

Turkey’s switch this season from barley exporter to importer has contributed to market tensions. The country is due to hold an import tender next Wednesday.

An import purchase by Algeria this week could also yield more EU sales, with German and Polish supplies seen in contention, a German trader said. Algeria has not bought French grain since 2024 because of diplomatic tensions.

German barley shipments so far this year include about 30,000 tons for Algeria, 60,000 tons for Saudi Arabia and 8,000 tons for Iraq, another trader said.

“Both Germany and France have made large export shipments of barley so far this year and I expect more to be on the way,” the second trader said.

The export window for western European barley could soon close, however. Supplies in France are tightening while crops from southern hemisphere harvests boost options for importers.

Forward prices for the 2026 harvest suggest feed barley will revert to its role as a cheaper grain, with double-digit discounts compared with malting barley and milling wheat, traders and analysts added.

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“As Canada looks to diversify trade and strengthen economic resilience, agriculture must be part of the solution,” said Erin Gowriluk, Canada Grains Council president in a Jan. 26 news release.

“Science-based, risk-based regulation is essential to maintaining market access and ensuring Canadian farmers can continue to innovate.”

WHY IT MATTERS: As Canada looks to diversify agricultural trade away from the United States, non-tariff barriers may hamper progress the Canada Grains Council says.

The council also recommended the Government of Canada use bilateral trade mechanisms to oppose the European Union’s strict pesticide regulations.

In the report, the council said Canada’s trading situation is shifting drastically since the United States is no longer a reliable trading partner. However, regulatory differences could make it harder for Canada to build its trading relationships.

This include trades rules from other countries that are not based on objective science, and do not follow internationally accepted risk assessments, the council said.

Non-tariff trade barriers are some of the most restrictive barriers for agricultural innovation, and they are increasing according to the report. Standards related to the regulation of agricultural innovations, e.g. crop protection products, put Canadian trade at risk.

For example, under the Canadian-European Union Comprehensive Trade Agreement (CETA), most tariffs were removed from Canadian agricultural imports. However, many countries in the EU have non-tariff trade barriers, which made trading more difficult for Canada.

The EU has taken a precautionary approach to agriculture innovations like crop protection products. Over the past 10 years, the EU has removed about half of the crop protection tools available to its own farmers. Because of this, the EU is under pressure to block farming imports using farming tools that are no longer allowed in Europe, even when those products have been proven safe.

Depending on how the EU implements so-called “reciprocity” rules, Canadian grain exports could be restricted or halted. Canadian trade could also be negatively affected as many countries around the world are influenced by EU trade policies.

The council said Canada should lead a coalition of like-minded countries to aim for systemic improvements in setting maximum residue levels. It should also work to prevent regulatory overreach for agricultural innovation in other countries.

Since Canada is engaged with trade at multiple levels, the country will be able to make the most of bilateral mechanisms within CETA to address the EU’s inclination to turn away from agricultural innovations.

Canada and its other trading partners can take on a strong objective to prevent non-tariff trade barriers, using diplomacy and scientific information, the council added.

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The culprits behind the outlook include the ongoing trade war with the U.S., underused trade deals with other trade partners, and high-rate mortgage renewals.

WHY IT MATTERS: Canada’s economy, agriculture included, is till trying to navigate volatile seas when it comes to trade and geopolitics, impacting projected farmer profit margins, investment and gr0wth prospects in the agriculture sector and more.

Krishen Rangasamy, principal economist with FCC, spoke at the farm lending company’s 2026 Economic Outlook Jan. 22.

“I understand that what we’re saying here is quite different from consensus on interest rates, because most forecasters are predicting either no change to the overnight rate or even an increase later this year,” said Rangasamy.

“That may well be the right forecast if the economy picks up materially. But … we think economic growth will weaken this year and and, if we’re correct about that, additional stimulus by the central bank should not be ruled out.”

Uncertain economics reign

Uncertainty over the future of the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) will continue to be a limiting factor, he said. Rangasamy also doesn’t see the threat of U.S. tariffs going away anytime soon.

He suspects Canadian exporters in CUSMA’s tariff-free categories such as farm, fishing and intermediate food products have felt above-expected tariff impacts due to confusion over rules of origin requirements, losing their CUSMA compliance in the process.

“Remember that the majority of our exports to the U.S. is tariff-free thanks to CUSMA, and yet, outside of the energy sector, our exporters have really struggled since the U.S. tariffs were imposed,” he noted.

Tariffs that have been placed on Canadian goods have caused U.S. importers to look elsewhere. This has caused Canada’s share of the U.S. market to drop to 11 per cent — its lowest ever — in 2025.

Although Rangasamy considers Canada’s attempts to diversify trade partners commendable, he’s disappointed in the country’s apparent inability to “materially reduce” dependence on the U.S., in light of its 15 free trade agreements with 51 countries.

“We’re not capitalizing on opportunities presented by those trade deals,” he said, citing ignored opportunities presented by the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).

That agreement was designed to offer Canadian businesses preferential access to the EU market. But some expected big winners when the deal was first inked have failed to see major gains, particularly meat sectors who say regulation conflicts continue to keep them out.

“Over the last eight years (EU) exports grew by 40 per cent to Canada. Our exports to the European Union have barely budged over that eight-year period,” he said. “So we’re struggling to even take advantage of the trade deals we’ve got already.”

Leveraging the house

This year will also see a large share of Canadian households renewing mortgages at higher interest rates than their origination. According to Bank of Canada estimates, mortgage payments will increase by an average six per cent this year.

“Those households that are renewing their fixed-year, five-year mortgage — which, by the way, is the most popular mortgage product in the country. For those folks, payments will increase by about 20 per cent,” outlook listeners heard.

If there’s a bright spot for Canada, Rangasamy said it’s the federal government’s new focus on ambitious public projects that could rekindle business investment. But don’t expect big results too soon.

“It’s probably not a 2026 story. It’s probably something more like next year or even 2028.”

Note: An earlier version of this article reported that FCC had forecast GDP to fall, rather than for expected growth to slow. We further put Canada’s free trade deal numbers at 51. Canada has 15 trade deals with 51 countries. Glacier FarmMedia regrets the error.

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The trade alliance between the EU and South America’s Mercosur, comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay, will substantially boost trade ties in a region that saw commerce with China soar in recent decades while U.S. influence plummeted.

But even as U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration seeks wider regional fealty, South American governments from Brazil to Peru are unlikely to relinquish strengthening ties to China or Europe at a time when they have eclipsed the U.S. in trade in most of the region.

Venezuela raid may have sealed the deal

If anything, several analysts said, Trump’s efforts to flex American power in the region may have helped push past the finish line a trade agreement that suffered numerous delays over two decades of negotiations.

“If credit for this deal goes to anyone, it is to the international context,” said Ignacio Bartesaghi, a foreign policy adviser who has worked with numerous Uruguayan governments over the years. “It goes to Trump’s tariff war, the conflict in Ukraine, to what happened in Venezuela recently.”

Trump’s commando raid to seize Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which set the stage for a more amenable successor government, was the latest of several moves by the U.S. president to sway regional governments.

Last year, Trump threatened to cut off U.S. financial support to Honduras if a conservative candidate did not win the presidential election and conditioned billions of dollars in loans to Argentina on conservatives triumphing in the country’s midterms.

He also used steep tariffs on Brazilian goods to try forcing the country to stop the prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a staunch Trump ally.

Voters backed Trump’s choice in both elections. But Bolsonaro was later convicted, and the U.S. government dropped most of the new tariffs against Brazilian products soon after.

“The return of America’s pre-eminence in the Western Hemisphere, led by President Trump, is undisputed,” Anna Kelly, a White House spokeswoman, said in a statement. “All of the President’s foreign policy actions have restored American strength after four years of weakness under Joe Biden.”

More deals to come

Trump has repeatedly bashed multilateralism and refused to abide by international rules, withdrawing the U.S. from several global pacts and even telling The New York Times last week that he did not need “international law.”

Few countries in Latin America seem to agree.

While Argentine President Javier Milei, one of Trump’s closest allies in the region, praised the U.S.-backed capture of Maduro, his Foreign Minister Pablo Quirno also celebrated the deal with the EU as a victory for “clear rules and freedom.”

Venezuela was a full Mercosur member until its suspension in 2016 for failing to meet trade and human rights commitments.

One Brazilian official close to the presidency, who asked not to be named to discuss private deliberations, called the EU deal a “breath of fresh air” in “the most shameful and negatively critical week for multilateralism in decades.”

The agreement signed this month may also push Mercosur to conclude other trade agreements with Canada and the United Arab Emirates, said Welber Barral, a former Brazilian trade secretary.

“Countries are seeking to create regional rules that can be obeyed, so they won’t depend on the World Trade Organization, which is being discredited by Trump,” Barral said.

The EU-Mercosur deal is just one more example of several being negotiated and signed by countries that were hit with steep tariffs by the Trump administration, such as Indonesia’s trade accord with the European bloc and a pledge between Japan, South Korea and China to increase regional trade.

The deal between Europe and South America shows that many countries want to reinforce global norms, said Margaret Myers, director of the Asia & Latin America Program at the Inter-American Dialogue.

“At a time when the U.S. is breaking from the status quo, parts of Latin America appear to be upholding it,” she said. “It’s a wake-up call for the U.S.”

— Additional reporting By Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia

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With U.S. President Donald Trump determined to shake up global trade, the European Commission and countries such as Germany and Spain argue the deal will help offset business lost from U.S. tariffs, and reduce reliance on China by securing access to critical minerals.

Opponents led by France, the European Union’s largest agricultural producer, say the agreement will jack up imports of cheap food products, including beef, poultry and sugar, undercutting domestic farmers.

Farmers march, block highways

Farmers have launched protests across the EU, blocking French and Belgian highways and marching in Poland on Friday.

France voted against the deal – but at least 15 countries representing 65 per cent of the bloc’s total population voted in favour, enough for approval, EU sources and diplomats said.

An EU diplomat and Poland’s agriculture minister said that 21 countries supported the agreement, with Austria, France, Hungary, Ireland and Poland against and Belgium abstaining.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz hailed Friday’s vote as a “milestone” and said the deal would be good for Germany and for Europe.

“But 25 years of negotiations is too long. It’s vital that the next free trade agreements are concluded swiftly,” he said in a statement.

EU capitals have been given until 5 p.m. Brussels time to provide written confirmation of their votes.

This would clear the way for Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to sign the agreement with Mercosur partners – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – in Asuncion, possibly next week.

The European Commission concluded negotiationson the deal a year ago. The European Parliament will also need to approve the accord before it can enter force.

France says battle isn’t over

The free trade agreement would be the European Union’s biggest in terms of tariff reduction, removing 4 billion euros (C$6.5 billion) of duties on its exports. The Mercosur countries have high tariffs, such as 35 per cent on car parts, 28 per cent on dairy products and 27 per cent on wines.

The EU and Mercosur will hope to expand evenly split goods trade worth 111 billion euros in 2024. EU exports are dominated by machinery, chemicals and transport equipment, and Mercosur’s are focused on agricultural products, minerals, pulp and paper.

To win over deal sceptics, the European Commission has put in place safeguards that can suspend imports of sensitive farm produce. It has strengthened import controls, notably regarding pesticide residues, established a crisis fund, accelerated support for farmers, and has pledged to cut import duties on fertilisers.

The concessions were not enough to win over Poland or France, but Italy shifted from a ‘no’ in December to a ‘yes’ on Friday.

French opposition parties look to topple government

“It seems to me the balance that has been found is sustainable,” Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni told a press conference.

Mathilde Panot, lower house chief of the far-left France Unbowed party, said on X that France had been “humiliated” by Brussels and on the world stage.

French far-right and far-left parties are set to launch no-confidence motions in the government over the likely approval.

French Agriculture Minister Annie Genevard has said the battle is not over and has pledged to fight for a rejection by the EU assembly, where the vote could be tight. European environmental groups also oppose the accord, saying commodities shipped to Europe will often come from deforested land.

“The simple truth is that this unpopular deal is a disaster for the Amazon rainforest and no progressive MEP that is committed to forest protection should ever support it,” Greenpeace EU campaigner Lis Cunha said.

German Social Democrat Bernd Lange, the chair of parliament’s trade committee, expressed confidence that the deal would be passed, with a final vote most likely in April or May.

— Additional reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, Kuba Stezycki and Alan Charlish, Giselda Vagnoni

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