The chief European Commission official on agriculture and the Americas Luis Carazo Jimenez has claimed that the signing of a free trade agreement with Mercosur was not about swapping EU cars for easier South American access to European beef markets.
“The negotiation with Mercosur has taken 25 years and this shows how fiercely we defended our position,” Carazo told the EU agricultural outlook conference last Wednesday. He stated that the Commission’s position is that the deal represents an overall benefit to EU agriculture, the EU economy as a whole and to the EU’s international relations.
EU economy
“Nevertheless, we have struggled and we have achieved a result that is balanced within agriculture. I will not go into what I think is a misinterpretation of the outcome of the negotiation that we are selling more cars for more agricultural imports.”
The official commented that EU dairy products, wine and olive oil all stand to gain from better trade terms with Mercosur countries and that all free trade deals have “losses and wins”.
“I have not come across a negotiation where you can win everything and you don’t have to give anything in return for that,” he said.
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The chief European Commission official on agriculture and the Americas Luis Carazo Jimenez has claimed that the signing of a free trade agreement with Mercosur was not about swapping EU cars for easier South American access to European beef markets.
“The negotiation with Mercosur has taken 25 years and this shows how fiercely we defended our position,” Carazo told the EU agricultural outlook conference last Wednesday. He stated that the Commission’s position is that the deal represents an overall benefit to EU agriculture, the EU economy as a whole and to the EU’s international relations.
EU economy
“Nevertheless, we have struggled and we have achieved a result that is balanced within agriculture. I will not go into what I think is a misinterpretation of the outcome of the negotiation that we are selling more cars for more agricultural imports.”
The official commented that EU dairy products, wine and olive oil all stand to gain from better trade terms with Mercosur countries and that all free trade deals have “losses and wins”.
“I have not come across a negotiation where you can win everything and you don’t have to give anything in return for that,” he said.
Read more
Listen: is Mercosur a done deal or can it be stopped?
Concerns raised over production standards
Level playing field needed for farmers, says Hansen
What the Mercosur deal means for Irish farmers
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