The European Commission has proposed new safeguards which it says will strengthen protections for EU farmers following the Mercosur agreement.
The European Union has agreed in principle to the EU-Mercosur Partnership Agreement, a trade deal with Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
But Irish farmers fear it could lead to south american beef flooding the European market, putting Irish farmers out of business.
The European Commission maintains that important agri sectors like beef are well protected within the terms of the deal.
But it has also agreed to new safeguards to try and get farmers on side.
The safeguards “provide an additional layer of certainty to EU farmers beyond the carefully calibrated phase-in of targeted quotas that have been agreed with Mercosur for imports in sensitive sectors”, the European Commission says.
“In the unlikely event of an unforeseen and harmful surge in imports from Mercosur or an undue decrease in prices for EU producers, swift and effective protections would kick into gear.”
Here’s how the safeguards will work:
As a rule, the Commission will launch an investigation if import prices from Mercosur are at least 10% lower than prices of the same or competing EU products and there is a) a more than 10% increase in annual imports of a product from Mercosur under preferential terms or b) a 10% decrease in the import prices of that given product from Mercosur, all compared to the preceding year. If the investigation concludes that there is serious injury (or threat thereof), the EU could temporarily withdraw tariffs preferences on products causing injury.
Farmers remain sceptical about the deal.
But the EU says the agreement will bring huge trade benefits to Ireland including for farmers.
“Currently agri-food products, a sector where Ireland is very competitive, represent only 5 percent of the EU’s total exports to Mercosur, due to the prohibitive tariffs and other restrictions currently in place in Mercosur countries.
As of now, Mercosur tariffs of up to 55 percent on EU agri-food products essentially close the market for EU products.
The EU-Mercosur deal will remove these tariffs, helping Irish farmers increase their exports to this region.”
Other sectors important to Ireland, including chemicals and pharmaceuticals are also expected to benefit, according to the EU.
“Promoting the economic competitiveness and societal importance of our farmers will always be the EU trade agenda’s top priority.
On the one hand, we must continue finding new export opportunities worldwide for their peerless products. On the other hand, we must provide all necessary protections to our farmers in the context of certain trade deals. These safeguards embody that core principle”, says the European Commissioner for Trade, Maroš Šefčovič.
The safeguard regulation must be approved by EU ministers and the European Parliament before it can come into force.