EA CALLS ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION NOT TO SACRIFICE THE EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH MERCOSUR COUNTRIES

by | Jun 29, 2019 | Sin categoría

ADEA CALLS ON THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION NOT TO SACRIFICE THE EUROPEAN AGRICULTURAL SECTOR IN NEGOTIATIONS WITH MERCOSUR COUNTRIES

ADEA – The Alliance for the Defence of the European Agriculture – has expressed deep concern about the impact of a potential EU trade deal with the MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). ADEA believes that the concessions being offered are very damaging to European agriculture and offer no advantage to farmers in the EU. ADEA is particularly alarmed by the contents of a letter signed by seven EU heads of State and Government and sent to Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, on 20th June.

In the letter, EU leaders backed the Commission’s ambition to conclude the impending EU trade deal with the MERCOSUR. And they ask the Commission to submit to MERCOSUR a balanced and reasonable offer that will pave the way for the conclusion of the Agreement.

Furthermore, the letter argues that this agreement would give European companies privileged access to a market of more than 260 million consumers and that many economic sectors of “strategic importance”, including cars and their spare parts, equipment, chemicals and pharmaceuticals, “will benefit the most“.

The counterpart would be to open the Union market to 99,000 additional tonnes of beef, 200,000 tonnes of chicken/turkey and 600,000 tonnes of ethanol per year from South American countries.

In addition, the European Commission has offered to open the EU sugar market, by offering tariff concessions for a quota of 150,000 tonnes at 98 EUR/tonne for raw sugar for refining. Also alarming, the possible dismantling of the citrus juice processing industry in the face of the expected increase in the import of Brazilian mandarins and oranges. The EU citrus sector, particularly lemon growers, will likely also be affected due to the growth of imports from Argentina. The EU garlic, apples and pears sectors would also be damaged.

These concessions will have devastating consequences for European farmers who produce these same foods, but which must meet much higher social, environmental and phytosanitary standards than those imposed on producers in these South American countries.

It is imperative and urgent that EU trade policy takes into consideration all productive sectors of the European Union equally: Industry and Agriculture.

European producers demand to EU heads of State and Government and the European Commission not to undermine European Agriculture in Trade Agreements with third countries, and call for:

  1. RECIPROCITY 
  2. FAIR COMPETITION  
  3. TRANSPARENCY 
  4. RESPECT

ADEA – The Alliance for the Defence of the European Agriculture

ADEA is the “Alliance for the Defence of European Agriculture”. The Alliance is pro-European and works in favour of the defence of European farmers and products, guaranteeing a level playing field in EU trade agreements with third countries. The Alliance is open to all sectors willing to defend the EU agriculture.