European Commissioner for Agriculture Christophe Hansen has said that he does not envisage there being a need to put an emergency stop on Mercosur beef imports, if the deal is ratified.

The deal contains a safeguard measure that could be triggered in the event that an influx of imported beef disrupts EU beef markets, but Commissioner Hansen told the Irish Farmers Journal that he does not believe the measure will be needed.

The Commissioner suggested that MEPs and member states should now read the entire text of the agreement and seek clarification on any areas of remaining concern.

“Those concerns, we have to take them very seriously, but I think with the safeguard clauses that are already built in and maybe with an additional safety net that I believe we will not have to use, we are well armed to cushion any impact on eventual prices.

“And I think that will be very important to monitor the situation very closely and take the time to read the text entirely.”

Commissioner Hansen stated that the EU should remember that “in agriculture, we are not just producing for domestic consumption, we are as well producing for export”.

He spoke too of a need to “enforce as well a level playing field” between EU farmers and those producing to export to the EU through trade deals.

“The example of the Brazilian beef where we detected that there was hormone beef present, we could say immediately ‘no’ and that is proof that it works but is it enough?

“I think we can do better because that is a fear we hear not only with Mercosur, but also products coming from different regions of the world that they are probably not produced in the same manner [as the EU] so therefore we need to enhance our controls at the borders,” he said.