EU-Mercosur agreement, European Commission promises agricultural safeguards
Brussels tries to cool the fears of some manufacturing sectors in order to get the Council and Parliament to ratify a still controversial agreement
From our correspondent Beda Romano
3' min read
3' min read
BRUSSELS - France's opposition to the trade agreement that the European Union has negotiated with Mercosur seems to be softening. The European Commission officially presented the agreement, outlining safeguard clauses that Paris, but also Rome, welcomed. The agreement must be approved by the Council and Parliament. The hope is that ratification can be concluded by the end of the year.
The commercial agreement was signed in December. After months of legal review and translation into different languages, it was officially presented yesterday. The most interesting aspect is the safeguard clauses that are to avoid imbalances in the import-export of sensitive products, especially agricultural products. In addition to the chapter devoted to this topic and foreseen in the text of the agreement, Brussels illustrated a legal act that makes the same clauses operative.
Speaking at a press conference here in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon, Trade Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič explained: 'We are not in any way reopening the arrangement. We just want to reassure the member states (...) In concrete terms, we want to adopt enhanced import monitoring in certain sectors. Every six months we will publish the data in full transparency. If anomalies in trade flows emerge, we will be able to introduce provisional measures'.
The monitoring will focus on sensitive products such as beef, chicken and sugar. More concretely, the Commission will be able to initiate an investigation when it notices an increase in imports of at least 10% and a decrease in import prices of at least 10% compared to domestic prices. More generally, the trade agreement establishes the right for the contracting parties to take bilateral safeguard measures in case of economic injury.
The agreement reached in Montevideo in December has raised the anxieties of agricultural associations in recent months, who are worried about facing competition from South American producers. The European Commission's attempt is to reassure the social partners in Europe. Commissioner Šefčovič explained that the clauses outlined yesterday were communicated to the Mercosur countries (Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay and Argentina).
