French farmers are among those voicing their concerns over a proposed EU-Mercosur trade deal, after progress in talks between the European and Latin American blocs sparked plans for protests.
French farmers’ unions including FNSEA and Young Farmers have stated that the deal, which would open the EU to agricultural imports from Latin America, would create an unlevel playing field for European producers who are required to adhere to stricter regulations. Another union, Coordination Rurale, has called for an “agricultural revolt”, the Independent reports.
Argentinian push back
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is also said to be among those objecting to the shape of the deal.
French president Emmanuel Macron said yesterday on a trip to Argentina that Milei “was not satisfied with the deal and that he was not satisfied with the way Mercosur worked” during recent talks between the two.
If those on the Latin American side of the agreement were unsatisfied, as well as those in France, “we haven’t reached a deal”, Macron added.
‘Harmful’
Macron was seeking to bolster his own case against the agricultural components of the deal, which he said are “harmful for our farmers”. He also suggested that the deal was “bad” overall and that it would be “very harmful for Argentina's reindustrialisation”.
He echoed farmers’ concerns over the imbalance in regulatory requirements on farmers in the two blocs:
“I will say this simply, we cannot ask our farmers in Europe ... to change their practices, to not use certain products and develop quality farming and, at the same time, open our markets to massive imports.”
As noted by Euractiv, Macron vowed not to sign the deal “as it stands”.
Germany, meanwhile, is said to be pushing to ‘split’ the deal into separate agreements, allowing the European Council to push through part of its measures without consensus from national governments.
Case for the defence
Others have defended the provisional deal, including former EU agricultural trade negotiator John Clarke, who told Politico that the deal offers a net benefit even for the EU’s own agricultural sector:
“The pigmeat sector does very well out of the agreement. Ditto the dairy sector, wine, spirits, beverages and virtually all processed agricultural products: jams, preserves, biscuits, breakfast cereals, infant formula, pet food.”
Others told Politico that the deal’s measures on agriculture amount to small changes. Bruno Capuzzi of Italy’s European University Institute said quotas mean that, on meats such as chicken, “it would mean two chicken filets per EU citizen per year”.
