Ireland will not ratify Mercosur trade deal in current format, Varadkar says

The Tánaiste said: "We won't ratify it or vote for it, because we're not satisfied with the environmental protections."

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar also said Ireland will do the heavy lifting of the climate action plan in the next 10 years. Photo: Julien Behal

Ireland will not ratify the Mercosur trade deal in its current form, the Tánaiste says.

Leo Varadkar said, however, that the Government cannot argue against the deal in a bid to protect Ireland's beef farmers from competition with Brazilian beef.