European Union Association Agreement

Since 1995 the clause on the respect of human rights and democratic principles is systematically included and constitutes an essential element of the agreement; 7.

The EU typically concludes Association Agreements in exchange for commitments to political, economic, trade, or human rights reform in a country.

In addition to these two policies, AAs with free-trade agreement provisions have been signed with other states and trade blocs including Chile and South Africa.

Agricultural industries are most significantly impacted when regional farms have to compete with large producers that gain access to markets when tariffs fall.

For large agreements such as the AA with Mercosur, significant opposition exists in European countries against cheaper imports of meats and other products.

[145] However, for the manufacturing sector of cars and industrial products for export, usually involving larger global corporations, relevant volume increases are obvious for the more industrialised trade members.

[146] The impact on the environment for those nations that export farm products from areas with rain forests or other ecologically relevant regions, for example in Brazil, has been increasingly documented by environmental groups opposing EU trade agreements.

[147] In addition, other industries with large environmental impact such as mining are expanding in areas where the regulatory burden is low, for example in South America and Asia.