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The Irish Farmers Journal understands that the European Commission want to offer a beef quota of 70,000t under the Mercosur trade agreement.
It is also understood that 11 member states, including Ireland, have strongly opposed this.
There will be a trade policy committee meeting on Friday and it is believed that this will be on the agenda.
If the European Commission wants to make this offer, it will fall to member states to oppose it.
With 11 member states already opposing it and a question mark over what position the UK would take in light of them leaving the EU, then it is very possible that there is enough support among member states to block the Commission’s offer.
Major mistake
On Thursday night, IFA president Joe Healy said it is a major mistake for the EU Commission to make this offer at this time given the huge uncertainty over Brexit and the ongoing scandals in Brazil over their failure to meet EU standards.
He said it is incredible that, despite strong objections from 11 EU member states led by Ireland and France, the EU Commission is "hell bent" on making additional concessions to the Brazilians and other Latin American countries at a very high cost to Irish and European beef farmers.
Too much access
IFA national livestock chairman Angus Woods said the Mercosur countries already have too much access to the European market with up to 74% of all EU beef imports amounting to 246,000t (carcase weight equivalent) every year.
Woods said the Commission are way too lenient with Brazil and others over their continuing failure to meet EU standards on the key issues of traceability, food safety, animal health and the environment. He said the fact remains that the EU relies on the Brazilian authorities to certify beef imports and the record shows that they are not capable of meeting EU standards.
Completely unacceptable
Meanwhile, speaking in Brussels this week following meetings with DG Agriculture and with the EU's chief negotiator, Sandra Gallina from DG Trade, Cormac Healy of MII said: "Given the massive uncertainty created by Brexit, the industry still holds the view that it is completely unacceptable for the EU to give further concessions on Mercosur beef access to the European market".
Lucrative market
Countries in the Mercosur bloc – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay – are all major exporters of the lowest cost beef produced in the world.
Between them, they currently supply almost three quarters of the EU’s imported beef.
These South American countries are potentially a lucrative market for EU industrial and pharmaceutical goods and services.
However, it is the EU’s beef and ethanol sectors that almost single-handedly have to pay for this, because those exports to the EU are Mercosur’s number one priority.
More to follow on www.farmersjournal.ie tomorrow on this story.
‘The one that frightens me most is Mercosur’ – Creed
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