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Akbar Novruz

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The European Parliament passed 334-324 with 11 abstentions, a proposal to refer the EU-Mercosur trade agreement to the EU Court of Justice for a legal opinion. Before the final ratification vote, Parliament will now await the Court's review, which may take months, Azernews reports.

Earlier, the parties inked a long-delayed free trade agreement at a ceremony in Asuncion, Paraguay, that would link markets throughout Europe and South America after decades of negotiations.

European farmers have staged several protests in recent weeks, warning that the agreement might shake up European agriculture, which has already been weakened in many member nations due to recent crises.

Some in South America are also wary about the impact of the treaty.

In Argentina, it is estimated that there could be a loss of 200,000 jobs just from the dismantling of the local automotive industry, trade and investment researcher Luciana Ghiotto told AFP.

In a bid to allay fears, the European Commission announced a crisis fund and safeguards allowing for the suspension of preferential tariffs in case of a damaging surge in imports.

However Argentina's libertarian President Javier Milei warned against quotas and safeguard which "will significantly reduce the economic impact of the agreement and will go against its essential objective."

According to EU estimates, European exports to Mercosur are expected to rise by 39 percent, while Mercosur exports to the EU could increase by 17 percent.

By 2040, the agreement is projected to boost EU GDP by 77.6 billion euros and Mercosur GDP by 9.4 billion euros.