European Union lawmakers have voted to hold up a major free trade agreement with the Mercosur group of South American countries over concerns about the legality of the deal. In a vote in Strasbourg, France, the lawmakers narrowly approved sending the EU-Mercosur agreement to Europe’s top court to rule on whether it is in line with the bloc’s treaties. The agreement was just signed into effect to great fanfare on Saturday. It aims to gradually eliminating more than 90% of tariffs on goods ranging from Argentine beef to German cars, creating one of the world’s largest free trade zones.
