There will be
no Mercosur deal in 2017. On Wednesday, talks in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were drawing to a close with little progress, and will resume in January.
There will be no Mercosur deal in 2017.
On Wednesday, talks in Buenos Aires, Argentina, were drawing to a close with little progress, and will resume in January.
The South Americans are reportedly pointing the finger in part at the European Commissioner for Agriculture Phil Hogan for refusing to budge on the 70,000t beef offer.
We in the parliament are deeply concerned about the current imports of meat from Brazil
That offer itself is still utterly opposed in Ireland. IFA president Joe Healy led a team in Argentina to lobby against excessive access for agricultural product, saying that EU Trade Commissioner Malmstrom cannot sacrifice beef to secure an overall deal.
“Irish beef production is four times more carbon efficient than Brazil where growth is driven on the back of destruction of the rainforests.
"The recent Weak Flesh corruption scandal proved once again the failure of Brazil to meet European standards, as confirmed by the European Commission’s own FVO report in May,” Healy said.
Nothing settled yet
“No deal this year doesn’t mean that the deal is off,” said MEP Mairead McGuinness, also present in Argentina.
“The pressure is on Mercosur to improve their offer on other aspects of the deal, in the expectation that they will secure an increased offer on agriculture. Vigilance will be necessary.”
McGuinness confirmed that in her role as first vice-president of the parliament, she would be advocating for an examination of standards in Brazil.
“We in the parliament are deeply concerned about the current imports of meat from Brazil, which has been exposed for serious corruption in its meat sector.
"Despite many negative findings of EU audits, the Brazilian authorities have failed to respond and address shortcomings.
"We are pushing for a committee of inquiry to investigate what is happening in Brazil when it comes to that country’s food production standards and its system of controls.
"Our planned fact finding visit to Brazil in April is also important in putting down a clear marker about our concerns” she concluded.
Read more
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