On Thursday 27 February, in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s threat to impose 25% tariffs on European products, the European Commissioner for Agriculture, Christophe Hansen, said that he was in favour of setting up a “safety net” to deal with “geopolitical shocks” (see EUROPE 13589/2).
“We’ve been hit and we’re going to have to react”, Mr Hansen explained at the Salon de l’Agriculture [Paris Agricultural Show] in Paris.
“The US administration’s approach is counter-productive”, he said. “I think we need a safety net for such geopolitical shocks or blackmail”, the European Commissioner suggested, without giving details of this “financial package”. In 2019, the first Trump administration had already imposed customs duties of 25% on certain products, including cheeses, wines and cognac.
Christophe Hansen was also asked about the free trade agreement between the EU and the South American Mercosur countries, which, as it stands, has been rejected by France (see EUROPE 13579/13). “I’m not here to lecture Emmanuel Macron. I’m here to listen and defend the interests of farmers”, said Mr Hansen.
The French Agriculture Minister, Annie Genevard, insisted on “the need to maintain a budget specifically dedicated to the Common Agricultural Policy” and said that “farmers cannot under any circumstances be the adjustment variable” with regard to the EU-Mercosur agreement. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)