Marc Ferracci reaffirmed this Sunday the position of the French government, which continues to oppose the free trade agreement that the European Union could adopt by the end of the year.
“Agriculture is not an adjustment variable.” The Minister Delegate in charge of Industry Marc Ferracci once again affirmed the government's opposition to the free trade agreement with Mercosur, this Sunday, November 17 on CNews and Europe 1. An agreement “unacceptable […] as is”he castigated, regretting the lack of “mirror clauses” with much less restrictive health and environmental standards in Latin America which could penalize French farmers.
“We are not opposed to international trade in principle, but it must be fair,” insisted Marc Ferracci. Our farmers and our industrialists must play on equal terms.” If the agreement with Mercosur could, on the other hand, benefit French manufacturers by facilitating their exports, the minister defended “a global approach”. “When we negotiate, we must take into account all sectors”he added, pointing to an agreement “not fair” for farmers.
The European Union seems determined to sign a free trade agreement with Latin American Mercosur countries by the end of the year, to the great dismay of France, which refuses it, as it stands, and mobilizes. The agreement is adopted if at least 15 countries representing at least 65% of the population vote in favor of it.
To prevent this adoption, at least four countries must be brought together to form a blocking minority. But this is not enough: these must be countries with enough populations to prevent supporters of the agreement from reaching 65% of the EU population. France must therefore rally three other countries which cannot only be Malta, Cyprus or Luxembourg. Poland and Austria have expressed their opposition in the past, but the pressure from the defenders, Germany and Spain in the lead, is very strong.
”
data-script=”https://static.lefigaro.fr/widget-video/short-ttl/video/index.js”
>
France
