In a written question on Monday 18 September, Michel Dantin MEP (EPP, France) calls for clarification from the European Commission on the EU concessions on beef that it plans to table as part of the free trade negotiations with Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay). Dantin fears the opening of an 85,000 tonne tariff quota.
"In this negotiation, numerous agricultural sectors are faced with the risk of substantial destabilisation and are very exposed in the European offer. The most sensitive products – beef, ethanol, sugar, poultry, pork and some cereals – have, with the exception of the first three, already been subject to quota proposals. Although the exchange of tariff offers is not currently in favour of European sectors, the Commission is reportedly about to propose a tariff concession of 85,000 tonnes in beef carcase equivalent weight", Dantin says in alarm.
He also calls on the Commission "to give details of the basis on which such a concession proposal is established, when the combined economic impact assessment of future free trade agreements, which was published by the Commission in 2016, indicates the clear risk of the agricultural trade balance worsening for the European cattle breeding sector in any case of liberalisation".
European and South American negotiators plan on improving their market access offers (which were exchanged in May 2016 and include agricultural and industrial products, services and public procurement) in order to make these negotiations converge towards a political agreement by the end of 2017 (see EUROPE 11832). A fourth series of talks is scheduled to take place in Brasilia on 2-6 October. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)