2024-12-16 14:36:00
On Monday morning, farmers and breeders protested in front of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food in Madrid against the agreement between the EU and Mercosur. The demonstration joins a long list of demonstrations in recent months, including a series of tractors. These are the keys to the new protest.
Why are the campaigns returning to the streets?
Two of the four most representative organizations (Asaja and Coag) are the ones that started the mobilisations. These two did not sign the agreement with the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, last April, a document containing 43 measures signed by the UPA and the Union of Trade Unions with which the government stopped the mass demonstrations that had begun in the agricultural sector. on February 6th not only in Spain but also throughout Europe. Asaja and Coag believe that “time has proved us right because the vast majority of the agreements that we already denounced as lacking concrete solutions have not been respected”. For them it was “a lost year”.
What are the main requests?
The protests focus primarily on what they see as comparative complaints about imports. The Field reports that its products undergo rigorous phytosanitary checks at the time of production but also at customs before being shipped to other countries. On the other hand, they denounce that the European Union, and also Spain (especially with Morocco) increasingly turn a “eye” to food products arriving from third countries. “We do not have the same rules of the game,” they specify in their statement, which translates into the expulsion of farmers from our country, who cannot compete with the prices of foreign products, with cheaper labor and less rigor and investment in health treatments. “We are the they pay of geopolitical agreements that have nothing to do with agriculture but that we pay for.” In particular, Morocco, Chile, Turkey, New Zealand and Mercosur have put in place, awaiting tariffs from China in response to the European tax on its electric cars and the USA with the return of Donald Trump The perfect storm.
What does the agreement with Mercosur consist of?
The agreement is the result of negotiations that began 25 years ago. It will allow the elimination of bilateral tariffs, the reduction of barriers and the harmonization of regulations. Among these, the sanitary and phytosanitary ones that the sector reports today. In her speech after the announcement, Ursula von der Leyen assured that farmers’ concerns had been “heard” and that European health and food standards “remain untouchable”. “Mercosur exporters will have to strictly comply with these rules to access the EU market,” said von der Leyen, who noted that the deal will save EU companies “4 billion euros a year in tariffs to export”. The movement will open the door to the creation of a free trade area of more than 700 million people.
Why does the camp reject it?
Mercosur (Southern Common Market) is an economic and political integration organization composed of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela, although the latter country has been expelled on several occasions for “failing to respect the full validity of the institutions democratic”. Spanish farmers – but also, for example, French and Polish farmers – believe that the necessary conditions for an agreement with these countries do not exist, due to the current agrarian crisis resulting from the pandemic or the war in Ukraine, in addition to high inflation. and rising costs. “Only the industries will benefit”, say the agricultural unions, “and the small farmer will pay dearly because he will not be able to compete on the same conditions”, says Pedro Barato, president of Asaja. Particularly significant are the mandatory rules for European farmers and breeders of the Green Pact, which require rules – which require significant investments – to produce on a mandatory basis with lower environmental impact and greater crop sustainability and which are not claimed by Mercosur. For example, reducing the use of plant protection products or animal welfare standards by 50%. “They force us, but they don’t do it,” complain industry sources. Therefore “we are in favor of free competition, but everyone with the same rules to compete”, assure the Spaniards. And they give another example: “There they can use hormones to fatten livestock when here they have been prohibited for 20 years.”
Which sectors would be most affected?
Those that tremble the most are those related to beef, poultry, rice, orange juice, sugar or ethanol, which would be very weakened. “It will be just one steak a year for every European,” said the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, to justify Spain’s support for the agreement with Mercosur. The first studies on the livestock sector indicate medium-term losses of 20%. “It is clear that it will not be noticed from one day to the next, but when you open the door it does not close. From one steak they will transform into thousands of steaks,” explains Miguel Padilla, general secretary of Coag. Yes, they could benefit other products such as olive oil, wine, cheese or spirits, which do not have much competition in those countries and will no longer have to pay duties, opening up a market of 273 million euros of people.
Will the situation calm down with a compensation fund?
The EU-Mercosur agreement (which still needs to be ratified in Brussels and also by each of the member states) was reached by the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on 6 December with some changes compared to the preliminary one from 2019. This pact will eliminate tariffs on more than 91% of the goods that the EU exports to Mercosur, such as cars, leather goods or clothing, which could save these industrial sectors up to 4,000 million euros per year. For the most affected sectors there is talk of a compensation fund of 1,000 million euros which the Spanish countryside rejects. “This will not resolve real reciprocity in terms of production standards and the risks of stimulating environmental degradation and biodiversity loss.” The Agriculture Ministry says the quotas for beef, cow, sugar and rice will be small and will not alter the EU common market and that there will be escape clauses in case the situation seriously alters markets.
#countryside #protesting #agreement #Mercosur #keys #revolt #sector