This is one of the subjects which has reignited the anger of farmers who always threaten to demonstrate from November 15. On November 18 and 19, the G20 is held in Rio, Brazil.. And for weeks they've been saying this could be the opportunity to sign the Mercosur agreements.
The free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay) has been stuck since 2019. It has still not been ratified. But discussions between the two parties have resumed in recent monthsunder the leadership, among others, of Germany and Spain. An agreement highly criticized by French farmers, they fear unfair competition with countries which do not have the same environmental and hygiene rules as France.
E2020, the report of a mission led by a researcher from INRAE Toulouse and TSE (Toulouse School of Economics) Stefan Ambec had served as an argument for the French government.
How did you end up writing a report for the government?
Stefan Ambec : “It all started a year ago, it was Prime Minister Edouard Philippe, who mandated me to chair a commission in charge of evaluating the free trade agreement with Mercosur from the angle of sustainable development. writing the report and the hearings that accompanied it lasted a year. And so Jean Castex received us at Matignon.
What is the purpose of such a mission and the report you made?
We relied on our report to argue this decision not to ratify the agreement as it stands. Our role, as researchers independent of political powers, is to enlighten, produce the most scientific arguments possible to inform public decisions. So, I couldn't tell you what's going to happen. I let politicians decide what is best. But we tried to ensure that the decision was as informed as possible. We also suggested modifications or additions to the agreement. In the report, we produce certain recommendations in this direction, the question of knowing what these discussions led to.
In this report, you were very mixed on Mercosur, on its contribution to biodiversity in particular…
Indeed, the conclusion of the report is that even if there have been some economic gains, there are also losses for certain sectors, notably agriculture. We looked at the detail, the impact of the reduction in customs duties for a beef quota on deforestation and with different scenarios, we concluded that this opening of non-tariff quotas could lead to an increase in the deforestation of around 5% per year during the six years of lowering of rights.
And regarding our farmers, what consequences?
What we highlighted in the report is the asymmetry between the environmental standards imposed on farmers in Europe and those imposed in the countries of the Mercosur zone, Brazil and Argentina, particularly in terms of pesticides or health standards for livestock. Beyond the fact that the reduction in customs duties to reduce prices on poultry, beef, ethanol, sugar, there is the idea that farmers do not have fair competition with these partner countries. It is unfortunate that little use has been made of negotiation to obviously try to export these environmental standards. There is very little, if anything, in the agreement that will impose the same standards for partner countries.”
- To calm the anger of farmers, the Minister of Agriculture said: “We are directly opposed to the agreement with Mercosur” according to Annie Genevard, we must renegotiate: “what we must do before the adoption of this international agreement is to try to rally as many countries as possible to our cause” in order to put “a right of veto” on this agreement,” defended the minister.
Special Agriculture program this Friday, November 15 on France Bleu Occitanie, between 9 a.m. and 10 a.m.
