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We firmly believe that the countries of the MERCOSUR and the EU need to improve and transform their relationship. In the last three years social movements, civil society organisations, trade unions, and farmers associations on both sides of the Atlantic have fought successfully together to stop the EU-Mercosur trade agreement from being ratified. The proposed agreement would serve primarily corporate interests at the expense of planetary boundaries, Indigenous people, family farmers, workers and animal welfare, and drive deindustrialisation and untenable social inequalities. This is nothing you can plaster over with some additional instruments. At the same time, our current economic relationship is already based on an asymmetric power relation and unequal terms of trade shaped by a history of colonialism with devastating effects on people, animals and the planet.

We, the undersigned organisations, thus believe that the EU-Mercosur agreement must be stopped and it is time to ground our common future on the principles of solidarity, equality, cooperation, sustainability and democracy. Our goal is not more unrestrained and uncontrolled trade and profits for the few but a good life for everyone. Trade can help us in the transition towards sustainable societies and methods of production but only if we base it on new principles. Negotiations concerning political, economic and sustainable trade relationships between our two regions must be based on these principles.

Solidarity

Our future relationship must not be based on exploitation but on solidarity. Therefore, we must put human rights, workers, Indigenous people, family farmers and animal welfare, protecting biodiversity and the climate front and centre. Those rights must be guaranteed universally, their protection must take precedence over any trade or business interests, and must be enforceable under international human rights law, not trade and investment law. We cannot allow transnational corporations any longer to profit from economic asymmetries and unequal rights.

Shaping our future with solidarity also means acknowledging and redressing the grossly unfair relationship and history of colonialism and exploitation that stems from it. Therefore, we must actively seek to decolonize our relations. This starts by acknowledging and taking responsibility for the historical social, ecological, financial and climate debt that Europe owes to the people from Mercosur countries, paying back those debts, including through public funding by the EU for Mercosur people’s development projects for just and sustainable societies, and in terms of trade, by granting comprehensive horizontal Special and Differential Treatment to Mercosur countries, industries and producers.

Equality

Trade and investment policies have so far contributed to increasing inequalities, between regions, and between people and reinforcing power relations like patriarchy, racism and neocolonialism profiting multinational corporations and big landowners. Future cooperation must change course and contribute to increasing equality. This starts by acknowledging indigenous rights, and supporting indigenous and rural communities, including Afro- descendant Quilombolas, landless and small-scale family farmers both in Europe and the Mercosur, riverine (Ribeirinhos) and small scale-fishing communities in maintaining their lands and culture and avoiding trading any product that can threaten it.

It further means overcoming economic models which are based on the appropriation of unpaid and underpaid reproductive labour on both sides of the Atlantic as well the discrimination of women in the labour market by transnational corporations thereby reinforcing patriarchal structures. Instead, future cooperation should foster public and community approaches to care. Therefore care work and public services provided by the State as a human right on a non for profit basis must be rooted locally and respected internationally.

Cooperation

Cooperation, not competition should be the principle we base our relationship on. Only huge corporations win when you pit workers and farmers against each other.

The EU and Mercosur should be able to protect peasant and family farmers against unfair competition and the Mercosur should be able to protect domestic industries that provide high- quality jobs.

Cooperation means that we should not seek to increase trade between our societies as a goal in itself but should primarily improve commercial partnerships of products that are produced sustainably and are not easily available on the other side.

Future cooperation must include the preferential transfer of technology and knowledge, free from corporate-controlled intellectual property rights, to support the necessary social and technological transformation of our economies by learning from each other.

Sustainability

Future cooperation must contribute to the transition towards sustainable societies and methods of production, be based on the principles of food sovereignty, agroecology, care and ensure reciprocity in high-quality standards across the board once decolonization measures have been taken by the EU and Special and Differential Treatment has been enacted.

Sustainability is not something you add at the end of an agreement in a separate non- enforceable chapter but a fundamental cross-cutting issue. Therefore, we should aim to trade only products that are not harmful to the planet, animals and people. This means stopping the trade of agricultural products from monocultures like soy and sugarcane and intensive animal farming which fuels deforestation, biodiversity loss and the spread of zoonoses. Instead, we should trade sustainable products, favouring local and domestic products when possible. It also means to stop the export of harmful and dangerous products such as forbidden pesticides from Europe to the Mercosur. Sustainable trade also implies reducing emissions from transport. Our relationship can’t be based on the extraction of resources low on the valuechain for the benefit of European economies. People in the Mercosur need the right to say no to harmful extractivist practices and demand a fair price for their resources. Our trade relationship must focus on sustainable methods of production, and on products not available either in the EU or the Mercosur.

Democracy

Finally, the relationship between the people of Mercosur and the EU cannot be decided behind closed doors. Any future cooperation must be based on the mentioned principles in a democratic, participatory and transparent way. Such a process must put the people most affected front and centre. Indigenous people, small scale peasant and family farmers, women and men, workers and civil society need to lead such a process, in order to guarantee that their interests and planetary boundaries are respected.  The rights of Indigenous peoples, peasants, workers and women must be respected, and the people from both regions must have the right to say NO to any agreement that does not serve their legitimate interests and aspirations for democratic, sustainable and just societies.

Moreover, any future cooperation must safeguard the broadest possible policy space for governments to be able to fulfil their public interest mandates as a precondition for democracy and no trade and investment measures should be enacted that can threaten that policy space. Our common future depends on more robust democracies and people’s power, not stronger and further entrenched vested interests and corporate power.

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    Plataforma América Latina mejor sin TLC Regional  
    European Coordination Via Campesina Europe  
    WeMove Europe  Europe   
    Friends of the Earth International Global  
    Greenpeace Global  
    Seattle to Brussels Network Europe  
    Le Mouvement de la Paix France  
    Cgt France  
    Les Amis du Monde diplomatique France  
    ZEA France  
    France Amérique Latine-FAL  France  
    Groupe Non-Violent LOUIS LECOIN  France  
    Alofa Tuvalu France  
    Emmaüs International France  
    Union syndicale Solidaires France  
    MRAP France  
    CCFD Terre Solidaire  France  
    Notre Affaire À Tous  France  
    Foodwatch  France  
    Union syndicale Solidaires France  
    Fédération Artisans du Monde France   
    Autres Brésils France  
    Réseau Européen pour la Démocratie au Brésil (RED.Br) France  
    Comité Pauvreté et Politique France  
    Amis de la Terre France / Friends of the Earth France France  
    LDH France  
    ActionAid France France  
    Action Non-Violente COP21 France  
    Alternatiba France  
    BLOOM Association France  
    Copernic  France   
    Générations Futures France  
    France Nature Environnement France  
    reseau roosevelt du travail pour tous france  
    FSU France  
    CADTM France France  
    Committee in Solidarity with the Indigenous Peoples of the Americas (CSIA-Nitassinan) France  
    Aitec France  
    Confédération paysanne nationale  France  
    Canopée France  
    Association Franco-Brésilienne pour les Peuples – AFBP France  
    medicusmundi España  
    UPO  Spain  
    Trawunche Madrid (Coordinación de Apoyo al Pueblo Mapuche) España  
    Sevilla no al TTIP Sevilla- Spain  
    CGT (Confederación General del Trabajo) España  
    CONFEDERACION INTERSINDICAL ESPAÑA  
    Asamblea Plaza de los pueblos  España   
    La Coordinadora de Organizaciones para el Desarrollo Spain  
    Asociación Cultural Brasileña Maloka España  
    UGT España  
    Permacultura ATTA España  
    Red Ecofeminista  España  
    Entrepueblos/Entrepobles/Entrepobos/Herriarte Spain  
    Campanya Catalunya No als tractats de comerç i inversió España  
    Campaña estatal No a los Tratados de Comercio e Inversión Spain  
    Ecologistas en Acción Spain  
    Salva la Selva España  
    ECOAR))) Spain  
    Argentinos en España, UCM y ATTAC ESPAÑA  
    FSC-CCOO Spain  
    Colectivo Agar, Espacio de investigacion y Encuentro desde la diversidad España  
    Foro Pacifista Internacionalista de Ciudad Real Spain  
    ALBA España  
    OMAL EStado español  
    Amigos de la Tierra España  
    Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft (AbL) Germany  
    Bündnis für gerechten Welthandel München Deutschland  
    Bündnis gerechter Welthandel Mannheim Deutschland  
    ÖDP Deutschland  
    KAB Deutschlands Germany  
    Stop-TTIP Kreis Miltenberg Deutschland  
    Christ*innen für den Sozialismus Deutschland  
    Kölner Bündnis für gerechten Welthandel Germany  
    Jugend im Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland e.V. (BUNDjugend) Germany  
    Heidelberger Bündnis für gerechten Welthandel Germany  
    Pax Christi München Germany  
    BUND Hameln-Pyrmont  Germany  
    Wuppertaler Aktionsbündnis Gerechter Welthandel Deutschland  
    Ttip-nein-danke.de Miltenberg Deutschland  
    Attac Germany Germany  
    Heidelberger Bündnis für einen gerechten Welthandel Germany  
    KoBra Kooperation Brasilien e.V. Germany  
    Bürgerinitiative “aufRECHT:FREIdenken Mittelbaden” Deutschland, Baden-Württemberg  
    Oficina Ecuménica por la Paz y la Justicia Alemania  
    Netzwerk gerechter Welthandel Germany  
    Arbeitsgemeinschaft bäuerliche Landwirtschaft Baden-Württemberg Germany  
    Gerechter Welthandel Germany  
    NaturFreunde Deutschlands Deutschland  
    Konstanzer Bündnis für gerechten Welthandel  Germany / Deutschland  
    POEMA – Armut u. Umwelt in Amazonien Deutschland  
    Coordination gegen BAYER-Gefahren Deutschland  
    Berliner Wassertisch Germany  
    FDCL-Center for Research and Documentation Chile-Latin America Germany  
    Stop-TTIP Kreis Miltenberg Deutschland  
    ILA Informationsstelle Lateinamerika e.V. Bonn Germany  
    Rettet den Regenwald Germany  
    POEMA e.V. Deutschland  
    Informationsstelle Peru Germany  
    Friends of the Earth Germany (BUND e.V) Germany  
    NABU e. V. Deutschland  
    PowerShift Germany  
    FUGEA Belgium  
    Mouvement d’Action Paysanne Belgium  
    Fern Belgium  
    Eurogroup for Animals Belgium  
    Corporate Europe Observatory Belgium  
    Entraide & Fraternité Belgique   
    Espirito Mundo Belgium  
    CNCD-11.11.11 Belgium  
    Rise for Climate Belgium  Belgique  
    Institute of Socioeconomic Studies – Inesc Brasil  
    FASE – Solidariedade e Educação Brazil  
    Instituto Terramar Brasil  
    Articulação Agro é Fogo  Brasil   
    Amigos da Terra Brasil Brasil  
    MST  Brasil  
    Coalizão Negra por Direitos Brasil  
    Global Aktion Danmark  
    Animal Protection Denmark  Denmark   
    Global Aktion Denmark  
    NOAH Friends of the Earth Denmark Denmark  
    Parents For Future Wien  Österreich  
    GLOBAL 2000 – Friends of the Earth Austria Austria  
    Anders Handeln Austria  
    Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund/Austrian Trade Union Österreich  
    Attac Austria Austria  
    Coordination office of the Austrian Bishop`s Conference Austria  
    Welthaus Graz Austria   
    Welthaus Diözese Graz-Seckau Austria  
    DKA Austria Austria  
    Climate Save Portugal Portugal   
    TROCA – Plataforma por um Comércio Internacional Justo Portugal  
    GAIA – Grupo de Accao e Intervencao Ambiental Portugal  
    Academia Cidadã Portugal  
    Climáximo Portugal  
    Palombar – Associação de Conservação da Natureza e do Património Rural Portugal  
    Ecomood Portugal Portugal  
    CIDAC – Centro de Intervenção para o Desenvolvimento Amílcar Cabral Portugal  
    Campo Aberto – associação de defesa do ambiente Portugal  
    ATBG Portugal  
    Opus Diversidades Portugal  
    ZERO – associação sistema terrestre sustentável Portugal  
    Stop TTIP Italy Italy  
    Fairwatch Italia  
    Transnational Institute (TNI) Netherlands  
    WILPF NL Nederland  
    FNV Netherlands  
    Handel Anders! Netherlands  
    Agriculture coalition for Just Trade The Netherlands   
    Both ENDS Netherlands  
    Milieudefensie – Friends of the Earth Netherlands Netherlands  
    Working group Food Justice  The Netherlands   
    Platform Aarde Boer Consument  The Netherlands   
    Centro de Estudios Heñói Paraguay  
    SOBREVIVENCIA, Amigos de la Tierra Paraguay Paraguay  
    ATTAC Hungary Hungary  
    Clean Air Action Group Hungary  
    FUNDACION SOLON Bolivia  
    ASTM Luxembourg  
    Fresh Eyes United Kingdom  
    Groupe d’Action Francophone pour l’Environnement GAFE Haïti Haïti  
    COECOCEIBA-Amigos de la Tierra CR Costa Rica  
    UDAPT Ecuador  
    CESTA AT El Salvador El Salvador, CA  
    REDES-AT (FoE) Uruguay Uruguay  
    Attac Norway Norway  
    Naturefriends Greece Greece  
    SEED: Strategies for Ethical and Environmental Development, Inc. United States  
    Zaustavimo TTIP Hrvatska