Brussels, 22/05/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 22 May, Copa-Cogeca (the European association of farmers' unions and cooperatives) warned of the logistical problems for exporting products to the EU - such as costly labelling and shipping rules - and they called for technical barriers to trade (TBT) to be lifted in the EU-US trade negotiations (TTIP).
“The biggest obstacle to trade (…) comes from unnecessary red tape and TBT, costly rules and obligations - like labelling and packaging requirements. For example, EU dairy producers face huge obstacles when trying to market Grade A milk products to the US. In the fruit and vegetable sector, phytosanitary barriers prevent European fruit from entering the US market”, said Copa-Cogeca's commodities and trade director, Arnaud Petit, during an exchange of views between negotiators and stakeholders on the sidelines of the fifth round of TTIP negotiations that is taking place in Arlington (Virginia) this week.
In Copa-Cogeca's opinion, three-quarters of the gains from a trade agreement will come from lifting non-tariff barriers. “It is crucial to ensure that non-tariff trade barriers are tackled”, said Petit. In collaboration with the European food industry, Copa-Cogeca has identified the non-tariff barriers that must be lifted as part of the sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) negotiations, given the significant impact these barriers have on businesses and jobs. “In the future, we cannot accept that the food industry should outsource processing facilities to North America in order to lessen the burden of safety controls, as is the case today for instance for the European dairy or foie gras sectors”, Petit warned.
The TTIP negotiations should not only channel the agri-food trade from one side of the Atlantic to the other, but also promote international standards, says Copa-Cogeca, calling for the inclusion of the principle of regionalisation in the EU-US veterinary agreement. “If we are not able to promote international standards in the agri-food sector together, we will lose an opportunity to establish favourable conditions to tackle global competition over the next 20 years”, Petit warned.
Lastly, Copa-Cogeca urges the US administration to allow the export of European beef to the US market as soon as possible, and to recognise the EU system of the protection of geographical indications. (EH)