EU-Mercosur Trade Deal Faces Fresh Hurdles
The European Commission has moved to quell farmers’ anger over its Mercosur trade deal by guaranteeing action if the domestic European market is impacted by large volumes of South American imports.
However, the Irish Government is among a host of EU nations adopting a ‘wait and see’ approach to the deal as France, under pressure from its powerful farming lobby, moves to build a blocking majority in the European Council.
Last week, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed off on the controversial trade deal with the Mercosur trading bloc, which includes key Latin American nations.
Under the deal, a maximum quota will be applied to the amount of agricultural products imported from Mercosur that benefit from lower tariffs, which includes 99,000t of beef, corresponding to 1.6pc of the EU’s total production.
Just less than 200,000t of beef is currently imported annually from Mercosur countries, subject to high levels of duty.
The Commission has said safeguard clauses contained within the new Mercosur deal will come into effect where imports of beef trigger a domestic problem for the market in Europe.
The Commission text currently states that “bilateral safeguards can be triggered to protect a specific agricultural sector from an increase in imports of any products which is causing, or risks causing serious injury to that sector, thereby allowing for the temporary withdrawal of tariff preferences.”
Niall Hurson | Irish Independent
See also:
Carrefour Boycotts Mercosur Meat Over Trade Deal
French Farmers Rally Against EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement