The EU remains committed to concluding a trade agreement with the South American trade bloc Mercosur, despite strident opposition from Europe’s farmers.

European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski told ministers at the recent council meeting in Luxembourg that the union aimed to push ahead with the negotiations, although he admitted that “further discussions” were required.

“The EU focus remains on ensuring that the agreement delivers on the EU’s sustainability goals, while respecting the EU’s sensitivities in the agricultural sector,” Commissioner Wojciechowski said.

The commissioner told ministers that talks with Chile, India, Thailand and Indonesia were also continuing on possible trade agreements.

Strong opposition

While any trade deal with Mercosur - which includes Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Bolivia - will generate strong opposition from EU farmers, there are suggestions that the European Commission is considering plans to establish a fund to compensate sectors that are heavily affected by an EU-Mercosur trade deal.

If the Commission’s compensation package is confirmed, then the controversial trade agreement with Mercosur could be finalised by the two sides at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro on 18-19 November.

Abuse of trade defence instruments

In other news from Brussels, Commissioner Wojciechowski accused China of abusing trade defence instruments and described the Asian giant’s behaviour in its continuing trade dispute with Europe as “unacceptable”.

In August, China launched an anti-subsidy investigation into EU dairy firms and subsequently accused European suppliers of pork and brandy of breaching anti-dumping rules.

The trade dispute is linked to restrictions imposed by Brussels on imports of Chinese-made electric vehicles into the EU.

“In the EU’s view, China’s decision to initiate the dairy investigation is not in line with WTO rules,” the Commissioner said.

“It seems to reflect a pattern of use of trade defence measures based on questionable allegations and insufficient evidence, within a short period of time,” he claimed.

He said the Commission intended “to challenge China’s imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures on imports of brandy from the EU”.

“This should send a clear signal to China that the abuse of trade defence instruments, which threatens to disrupt normal trade flows, is unacceptable.”

The Commission also plans to “identify and assess” all possibilities to offer appropriate support to EU producers facing the negative impact of the trade dispute with China, he confirmed

He urged pigmeat and brandy producers to apply for EU co-funded promotion programmes, with new calls for proposals to be published this coming January.