Spain: EU-Mercosur deal: meat in exchange of cars?
Spanish farmers’ organizations have sent a letter to the President of the Government expressing their concern regarding “an unbalanced free-trade agreement” which does not take into account certain productions, especially some Mediterranean ones.
For the Copa-Cogeca Spanish organizations, the agreement’s impact could endanger not only these crops but also the producing areas economic fabric, some of which “have already suffered a great deal”, and even the most sustainable and environmental friendly European production model.
According to these organizations, the agreement impact studies show that a number of Spanish productions will suffer a serious effect. In particular, the sectors most affected would be livestock, citrus fruits, rice and, to a lesser extent, sugar beet.
As far as beef is concerned, a sector with a large presence in Spanish areas with a high environmental value, “it already faces imports from Mercosur countries which account for 80% of the beef entering the UE, and any additional concession will introduce strong imbalances in the market at a time when we also have to face the Brexit”.
In the case of citrus fruits, a sector badly affected by the increase in concessions accumulated by other trade agreements such as that of South Africa, “the signing of this agreement will further worsen its situation in the coming years due to the liberalization of Brazilian orange juice, which already accounts for 90% of the EU market”.
Another Mediterranean crop that should be recognized as “a sensitive sector” is rice, which has also suffered from concessions under other trade agreements. “It must be remembered that in Spain rice is grown in very sensitive environmental areas, where there are no other crop alternatives”.
For some leading Spanish journalists such as César Lumbreras, “it seems that Argentinean and Brazilian beef has been exchanged for German cars and appliances”.
The Spanish Government, regardless its political color, has always been in favor of this free-trade agreement.
Luis Planas, the current acting Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, considers the agreement to be “globally positive” for the interests of the Spanish agro food sectors. For Planas, “misgiving always exist when there is a change”. He recalls that, for example, the EU-Canada agreement also received criticism and negative comments and yet it has managed “to increase Spain’s agro food exports to Canada by 90%”.
On the other hand, Spanish exports of wine and olive oil, among others, could benefit of the EU-Mercosur free-trade agreement.
Total trade between Spain and Mercosur
Several sources