Renew MEP Ciaran Mullooly has asked the European Commission to investigate whether surging beef imports from Brazil, Argentina and Uruguay are depressing prices for Irish and EU producers, and whether large processors are using cheap imports as a benchmark to squeeze farmers. The written question, tabled on 15 July 2026, targets the bloc's Mercosur trade exposure at a moment when Irish beef prices have fallen over 13%.
Mullooly's first request seeks an assessment of whether the import surge — which accounts for over 70% of non-EU beef entering the EU — exerts downward pressure on producer prices. His second asks the Commission to examine whether the highly concentrated processing sector, dominated by a handful of multinationals operating across several member states and the UK, uses imported beef as a pricing benchmark in negotiations with farmers, potentially distorting the internal market or raising competition concerns. The third question presses the Commission to cite any instance where competition, anti-corruption or safeguard provisions — referenced in an earlier reply to Written Question E-001890/2026 — have been activated in response to the recent import increase and price decline, and if not, why.
The question signals a growing unease among EU farming representatives over the practical effects of the EU-Mercosur trade deal, which has been provisionally applied but faces ratification hurdles. Mullooly, an Irish MEP, is directly representing the interests of beef farmers in his constituency, who have seen prices drop sharply as South American shipments rise. The Commission is expected to reply within six weeks; its answer will indicate whether it sees a market distortion serious enough to trigger trade defence instruments or a competition investigation. If the Commission acknowledges downward price pressure but declines to act, it could fuel calls from farm lobbies for stronger safeguard clauses or even renegotiation of the Mercosur agreement.