European Union-Mercosur agreement: France’s reasons
The fear of importing products from deforestation and products containing banned pesticides unites French farmers against this agreement, considered economically unjust and ecologically hypocritical.
By Liszt Vieira, in The Earth is round
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I have not found in our commercial or alternative media any reasonable explanation for the rejection of this agreement by French farmers. It seems that they do not wish to make known the point of view of agricultural producers in France.
French farmers oppose the agreement between the European Union and Mercosur mainly for economic, environmental and social reasons. They claim unfair competition. They fear the massive entry of lower-priced Mercosur products, such as beef, chicken, sugar, ethanol and soy.
This is because production costs in Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay are lower and labor, health and environmental legislation is less strict than in the European Union. This would lead to a drop in prices on the European market and a reduction in agricultural income, in a sector which is already experiencing chronic difficulties.
To say less rigorous is an understatement. We know that Brazil poisons its agricultural production with pesticides banned in Europe. But the Lula government and the parties that support it have not yet discovered that pesticides are harmful to health. And the right is licking the boots of agribusiness.
European farmers must comply with strict standards on pesticide use, animal welfare, traceability and environmental protection, and many of these standards are not required in Mercosur.
The farmers say: “We are forced to produce expensive and clean products, while we import products manufactured according to more flexible rules. »
2.
Agricultural unions say the deal encourages the expansion of livestock and soy farming in Mercosur, indirectly contributes to deforestation and contradicts European climate commitments.
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Hence the frequent slogan in demonstrations: “We do not want to import deforestation”.
The deal is rejected by the entire agricultural sector, already facing high debt, aging farmers, the closure of small estates and pressure from supermarkets for low prices.
Many farmers feel like they are being sacrificed in the name of free trade, while industry and services would be the real beneficiaries. The number of agricultural establishments in France has increased from 1.4 million in 1980 to 416 thousand today.
France strongly values agriculture as part of its national identity.
This opposition therefore does not come only from agricultural unions: left-wing parties, environmentalists and right-wing sectors also criticize the agreement. And several French governments, of different political leanings, have already expressed reservations or blockages.
Thus, French farmers are opposed to the European Union-Mercosur agreement because they consider it economically unfair, ecologically contradictory and socially destructive for European family farming.
*Liszt Vieira He is a retired professor of sociology at PUC-Rio. He was a deputy (PT-RJ) and coordinator of the World Forum of the Rio 92 Conference. Author, among other books, of Democracy reacts (Garamond). (https://amzn.to/3sQ7Qn3)
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