Representatives of the EU and Brazil are confident that the controversial Mercosur trade deal will finally be finalized this year. The latest resistance – especially among agricultural associations in several countries – will be overcome with the help of a billion-dollar compensation fund. But these measures are also met with skepticism. French farmers are taking their discontent back to the streets.
Farmers across the country took to the streets on Monday, blocking roads with tractors, lighting protest fires or setting up wooden crosses. Further actions are planned for the coming weeks.
French farmers also responded to the massive, months-long protests last winter: the concessions promised by the government in Paris were not implemented. The demonstrations at the time were mainly motivated by high fuel prices. Regular tractor blockades led to enormous traffic disruptions.
Mobilization also in Germany
There is also mobilization against the pact in Germany. The German Farmers’ Association called on Monday for an end to the agreement. “This agreement would be unilaterally harmful to our agriculture,” warned German farmers’ president Joachim Rukwied. Domestic production would be “displaced by the import of agricultural products according to the standards of the last century”. It is necessary to compensate for the differences between international and European environmental, climate and animal welfare standards. That is why the Mercosur agreement must be stopped and fundamentally renegotiated.
However, German business associations and the federal government have been pushing for final ratification for years. European Commission President Von der Leyen insists on this. “The devil is always in the details,” she said in Brazil on Sunday. “The home game is the most important, but often also the most difficult.”
Macron wants to refuse to sign
French President Emmanuel Macron reiterated his rejection of the Mercosur agreement during a visit to Argentina on Sunday. France rejects it, he said. “We do not believe in the agreement as it was reached.” Austria is also among the countries critical of the agreement. In addition to environmental concerns, expected competition for domestic agriculture will likely be the deciding factor in politics.
Trade associations, but also the majority of EU countries, are calling for a speedy conclusion. Above all, the danger that newly-elected US President Donald Trump’s trade policy poses to Europe may have been persuasive in many capitals. You don’t want to end up as a loser between the two blocs, the US and China. It is uncertain whether Macron will succeed in assembling a blocking minority in 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.
