French farmers yesterday protested a trade deal that would boost agricultural imports from South America, claiming it posed a threat to their livelihoods.The proposed agreement reached between the European Union (EU) and the five-nation Mercosur trade bloc comprising Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay and Bolivia in 2019 ran into difficulties as farmers and some EU governments objected to the terms citing concerns over the use of pesticides in South American produce.
Yesterday’s protest in Aurillac, in southern France, marks the launch of a new wave of protests which could spread through the EU’s agricultural community amid rising concerns that a deal could be finalized at the G20 summit in Brazil scheduled to start on 18 November. This, despite the fact that France’s Minister of Agriculture, Annie Genevard, has publicly assured that such an outcome is “highly unlikely.”
A letter to Ursula von der Leyen published in Le Monde which was signed by some 600 French politicians informs the EU Commission President that the conditions for adopting an agreement with the Mercosur bloc “have not been met.” Protesters blockaded the state building in the western commune of Niort last week. This week, the Copa-Cogeca European farmers’ group wrote to von der Leyen, urging her to reject the Mercosur deal and adopt “a coherent trade policy”.
The three major French farming unions have announced plans to take action: FNSEA, the largest, is calling for country-wide demonstrations as soon as the winter sowing season wraps up mid-November. Coordination Rurale has promised “an agricultural revolt” in the southwestern cities of Auch and Agen to begin on 19 November, while the Confédération Paysanne, the third-largest union, is also preparing to take action reflecting its anti-globalisation attitude towards “free trade agreements.”
Farmers in Belgium have called for demonstrations not far from EU headquarters in Brussels on Wednesday.
European farmers’ objections stem from what they claim are the overly strict environmental regulations the EU insists that they must follow whereas the Mercosur deal could flood the market with imports from South America which are subject to lower environmental and labour standards, according to Véronique Le Floc’h, the president of Coordination Rurale, France’s second-largest farmers’ union, which has been closely linked to France’s far-right National Rally party. “If the Mercosur agreement is signed, it will spell the end of our agriculture,” she said.
Interviewed on TF-1, Agriculture Minister Genevard reiterated the government’s opposition to the deal, saying: “We don’t want this agreement because it’s harmful. It will bring in products, including substances banned in Europe, at the cost of deforestation. It will unfairly compete with our domestic production.” However, this failed to mollify Le Floc’h. “When the minister says the agreement won’t be signed, she’s either naive or thinks we are,” she said. “Why should we believe her when so many countries are in favour of it?”
In March, President Emmanuel Macron called the deal “terrible” and “outdated”, making clear his opposition to any agreement as long as South American producers fail to meet the same environmental and health standards as EU farmers must.
