Who has the most to lose or gain if the Mercosur agreement is signed? – Liberation

Peasant anger is growing against the signing of the free trade treaty between the European Union and five Latin American countries. If French agriculture appears to be the big loser from the agreement, automobiles, industry and chemicals would be winners… to the benefit especially of Germany.

On the other hand, angry French farmers, mobilized on their tractors against the signing of the free trade agreement between the EU and the Mercosur countries, finalized in 2019 and which must now be ratified by the 27. And we includes: exports from Latin American countries of cereals, milk and especially meat, produced with a high concentration of GMOs and hormones and benefiting from the almost total elimination of customs duties, would constitute a existential competitive threat for all French agriculture. Mercosur, an abbreviation of the “common market of the south” (“Mercado comun del sur”), brings together five countries which represent more than 80% of South American GDP and are all major agricultural powers: Brazil, Argentina , Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia.

Monday, November 18 at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro, the head of state, Emmanuel Macron, therefore repeated Paris' opposition, “as is”to this treaty desired by the European executive, with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in the lead: “This text, because it has been initiated for several decades, is based on prerequisites which are obsolete”. The French president reiterated to his Brazilian counterpart Lula that he wanted “protect” French and European agriculture: “In this regard, we really want not to import agricultural products which do not respect the rules that we have imposed on ourselves” in environmental matters and