French President Emmanuel Macron warned this Saturday that a trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur countries “is not possible” if Latin Americans do not respect environmental standards like the Europeans.
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“An agreement with Latin American countries is not possible if they do not respect the Paris agreements (on climate) like us and if they don’t respect the same environmental and health restrictions that we impose on our producers,” Macron declared, on the sidelines of his visit to the great national agricultural fair.
Mercosur is made up of Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, all of them important agricultural powers.
“When restrictions are imposed on our producers, we must impose them on the food we import, something that is not done enough at the European level,” Macron said.
The EU and Mercosur closed a trade agreement in 2019, after more than 20 years of complex negotiationsbut this was not ratified due to concern in Europe about the environmental policy of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The tone has shifted in favor following the return to power of left-wing President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and earlier this year European Commission Vice President Frans Timmermans said the EU plans to sign the deal by July .
French farmers, and cattle breeders in particular, fear the entry into the community market of South American agricultural products subject to less demanding production standards than those of the EU.
AFP
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