Spain’s Socialist Agriculture Minister Luis Planas (PSOE) has called Austria’s rejection of a trade deal between the European Union and the South American Mercosur business group “a bit shocking”. Agriculture Minister Norbert Totschnig (ÖVP) had previously confirmed Austria’s “clear no”.
On Monday, European agriculture ministers will discuss a possible agreement with the Mercosur states of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay in Brussels. The agreement will be signed in the second half of the year under the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council. As in 2019, the trade agreement with the South American countries could fail due to a veto from Vienna.
Wants to convince Totschnig
For this reason, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture Planas wants to hold bilateral talks with his Austrian counterpart to convince Totschnig of the “balanced” trade agreement.
According to the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, a balance is being sought between trade policy, food and production technology and environmental aspects. These would also take into account the mirror clauses, which is why he does not understand Austria’s continued negative attitude towards this trade pact. According to the mirror clauses, imported agricultural raw materials and foodstuffs must be subject to the same production standards as in the EU.
“Isn’t Running Well”
However, the Austrian government is concerned that food or animal welfare controls in South America do not meet European standards. “In our opinion, this is not going to end well,” Totschnig said ahead of the talks, calling on the EU commission to “focus on agricultural production and a functioning internal market”.
According to Totschnig, the Mercosur agreement would have the greatest impact on beef and poultry, sugar and bioethanol. Therefore, according to the ÖVP minister, there is an urgent need for an EU-wide “uniform, transparent designation of origin”. In that case, the consumer can at least decide for himself. “Unfortunately, the Union is late here,” he added. At EU level, however, Austria is increasingly losing its position. The critical voices from France and Ireland, for example, have now become somewhat quieter.
Germany is pushing for an agreement
On the other hand, countries such as Spain and Germany, which have major trade interests in South America, are pushing for the agreement. The European Commission is also backing the project, which would become the world’s largest trade deal with around 700 million consumers. While the European industry mainly hopes for higher sales of cars and chemicals in South America, the South American agricultural industry is interested in exporting foodstuffs such as soy, meat or sugar to the EU.
Source: Krone
I’m Ben Stock, a journalist and author at Today Times Live. I specialize in economic news and have been working in the news industry for over five years. My experience spans from local journalism to international business reporting. In my career I’ve had the opportunity to interview some of the world’s leading economists and financial experts, giving me an insight into global trends that is unique among journalists.
