French farmers will take to the streets this week, and their Belgian and Austrian counterparts could also protest in the coming weeks, as the deal between the European Union and the South American trading bloc, Mercosur, could come to fruition by the end of the year.
Farmers are worried that the trade agreement would result in cheap agricultural products flooding the market. These would not be subject to the same onerous EU standards and environmental regulations that European producers must follow.
“The agreement would open the door to 99,000 tonnes of beef, 180,000 tonnes of poultry, the equivalent of 3.4 million tonnes of corn, and 180,000 tonnes of sugar,” two of France’s main farming unions warned in a joint press release. They said they would start protests from November 15th and their movement could spread to Brussels.
Austrian farmers are also indignant about the Mercosur deal and have rejected an offer by the European Commission, which they have called a “bribery attempt,” that would compensate European farmers for any negative impact caused by the agreement. Austrian daily Kronen Zeitung called the offer a “farce,” as it would effectively provide compensation equalling €10 per EU farmer.
French farmers say this is a “provocation for European farmers” that “would consist of selling off our agriculture and condemning the sustainability of our farms by importing food that Europe does not want.”
The trade deal between the EU and Mercosur—Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay—has been in the works for 25 years. It envisions dropping tariffs between European and South American producers on goods ranging from beef to cars and creating a market of more than 700 million people, accounting for a fifth of global GDP.
Leaders of eleven pro-deal EU countries, including Germany and Spain, see the pact as both an economic victory for European companies looking to conquer new markets and the best way to challenge China’s trade hegemony over the Mercosur bloc.
Although a preliminary agreement was reached in 2019, the deal was blocked due to resistance from some EU member states, such as France, Austria, and Ireland, who were worried about the potential harm the deal could cause to their agricultural sector.
European countries have also expressed concern about the deal’s environmental impact. A new EU law banning the import of products linked to the destruction of the world’s forests has been a sticking point, according to Janez Lenarčič, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management.
“We are calling for substantial compliance with the Paris agreements, mirror clauses, and the protection of European interests, industries, and farmers because it’s a question of a level playing field,” French President Emmanuel Macron said in October, adding that, “as it stands,” the treaty is “unacceptable.”
However, talks have been ongoing, and according to reports, the agreement could be finalised by the end of this year, potentially on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, which is set to take place next week.
According to Politico, despite being Europe’s second-biggest economy, France does not have enough influence on the European stage to alter or veto the deal following the defeat of Emmanuel Macron’s party at the parliamentary elections earlier this year.
Under EU rules, France would have to find at least three other countries, representing at least 35% of the EU population, to vote down the deal.
