Farmers say no to EU agreement with Mercosur

For Italian farmers, the free trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur, as it stands, is no good. The agreement was signed on Friday 6 December in Montevideo and will have to be ratified by the EU Parliament and the Council by qualified majority to enter into force. But the farmers - not only the Italian ones - are not satisfied.

'Coldiretti and Filiera Italia are not against Mercosur in principle,' reads a nita of the farmers' association, 'provided, however, that substantial changes are made, starting with the introduction of reciprocity of rules in production standards. As formulated, the agreement would cause very serious damage to Italian and European agri-food companies, with potential risks also for consumer health'. Among the concerns at the top of Coldiretti's list is the use in the four South American countries that are part of Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) of antibiotics and growth hormones in livestock, as well as the use in the fields of pesticides banned by the EU. But also weighing in are the accusations about the lack of respect for workers' rights and the rampant counterfeiting of Italian food products. For the agri-food sector, the agreement, claim the farmers of the confederation, would worsen the agri-food trade balance deficit between the EU and Mercosur, which already amounts to 23 billion euros to the detriment of European countries.

Confagricoltura also recently voiced its criticism of a free trade agreement with the countries of the South American bloc. In agreement with a letter from Copa-Cogeca addressed to the President of the EU Commission last month, the association expressed concern about the impact of a greater opening to imports of agri-food products from Mercosur, particularly beef, poultry, rice, maize and sugar. Confagricoltura also stressed the need for a principle of reciprocity that would require Mercosur producers to meet the same environmental and health standards as European farmers, emphasising the difficulties that EU operators would face in competing fairly with foreign producers subject to less restrictive rules.

Cia-Agricoltori Italiani calculates that the EU-Mercosur agreement effectively liberalises 82% of agricultural imports from South America: 'The agreement,' said its president, Cristiano Fini, 'seems very unbalanced and affects some sensitive sectors. In fact, the agreement provides for the EU to grant tariff quotas on beef (99 thousand tonnes), poultry (180 thousand tonnes), pork (25 thousand tonnes), sugar (with elimination of the duty on Brazilian sugar), ethanol (both for chemical and other uses), rice (60 thousand tonnes) and honey (45 thousand tonnes). 'In the EU, on the other hand,' reads a Cia note, 'we are looking above all at the benefits that will be obtained by sectors such as pharmaceuticals and automotive, which are relevant above all for German exports, and interested in the fifth largest market outside the EU, with 260 million Latin American consumers'.

On the side of the farmers was the leader of the League and Minister of Infrastructure, Matteo Salvini: 'I have always been very attentive to the positions of the world of producers and farmers. All the farmers and breeders of Europe are saying no to this trade agreement that risks bringing entire sectors of the agricultural sector to their knees. I believe that since this agreement has been at a standstill for years, and not by chance, it would be right for it to remain at a standstill'.