Source: Foundation for Economic Education
by Cláudia Ascensão Nunes
“In Brussels, we have witnessed a scene that has become increasingly common: protests by European farmers marked by escalating hostility, including burning tires and clashes with police. This discontent is the cumulative reaction to a process that has dragged on for more than 25 years, and is now being pushed toward completion under conditions that are deeply damaging to European farmers. Some invoke the benefits of free markets, and, under normal circumstances, these do indeed offer the best outcomes for both producers and consumers. The problem is that between European farmers and producers from Mercosur—a trade bloc that includes Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—the market can never be truly free, because farmers in each bloc operate under fundamentally different regulatory conditions.” (12/26/25)