A number of countries, including Argentina and Brazil, have objected at WTO level about how the EU and UK propose to allocate third-country quotas when the UK leaves the EU.

Their view is that separate quotas for the UK and EU 27 are not the same as one larger quota that can be used over the entire EU 28 as it is now.

Whatever the merits of this argument, the fact that they see the solution as more quota access has to change the dynamic of the EU negotiating any other third-country trade deals until this issue is resolved at WTO. Specifically, it has to put a question mark over the validity of the generous 70,000t beef quota offer made in the recent round of negotiations with Mercosur.

This offer has been extremely divisive at EU level, with a split emerging between countries that have strong agricultural interests and others whose priority is industrial goods and services.

There is no doubting the attractiveness of a Mercosur deal for these sectors, but farming interests, particularly in the beef sector across Europe, cannot be sacrificed.

Now that the issue of access to the future EU 27 has gone to WTO with the possibilities that existing quota access could be increased, it is an opportunity for the EU to pause and reflect on the level of offer for beef access that it is appropriate to offer Mercosur.