Plagued by Crippling ‘Green’ Regulations, EU Farmers Protest Free Trade Deal with Mercosur That May Decimate European Agrobusiness
Here’s how the elites work in the European Union: first, they pile on a slew of failed, crippling regulations on their farmers, making food very expensive to produce – all in the name of ‘Global Warming’ or ‘Climate Change.’
Then these same elites turn around and negotiate a free trade deal with Mercosur in South America, in which they mean to buy produce from these countries at a lower price since the farmers in these countries don’t have to deal with the same amount of deranged ‘green’ regulations.
It’s no wonder that farmers in Europe are now on war footing against this deal.
A group of about 100 farmers protested in Brussels back on Wednesday (13) against the EU-Mercosur deal, with farmers in neighboring France saying they would follow suit from early next week.
Reuters reported:
“Brazil has been pushing to have the EU-Mercosur agreement signed by the end of the month while it holds the presidency of the G20. Advocates of the deal, including the EU’s biggest economy Germany, say it will open up more markets for their exports.”
While this is going on, France, the EU’s largest agriculture producer, is trying to convince other EU members to form a minority bloc against the deal.
“French Prime Minister Michel Barnier said after meeting EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels: ‘I told the president that France cannot and will not accept this deal under its current terms’.”
The Mercosur bloc includes Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay and Uruguay. EU farmers say their produce will create unfair competition since they are not bound by the same strict regulations they face in the EU.
In France, farmers are timing their national protests to Monday and Tuesday, when the G20 leaders will be meeting in Rio de Janeiro, according to Arnaud Rousseau, from farm union FNSEA.
“’If we were to validate this agreement, it would be a real disaster for European and French agriculture, with production conditions that obviously don’t respect any of our production standards’, Rousseau said.”
Some farmers have already started small protests, such as dumping manure in the eastern town of Chaumont.
“’As it stands this agreement jeopardizes fair trade and the future of millions of French producers and the agri-food chain that depends on them’, Jean-François Guihard, head of livestock and meat association Interbev, told reporters on Wednesday.”
The EU-Mercosur deal is expected to allow the entry of an additional 99,000 tons of beef, 190,000 tons of sugar, 180,000 tons of poultry meat, one million tons of maize.
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