Friday, October 02, 2020

FRANCE 
Peasant unions unanimous against free trade

by Bhavi Mandalia
September 30, 2020

In recent days, criticism against the free trade agreements signed between the European Commission and Canada, then with the Mercosur countries, has become increasingly fierce in France. Very critical of the economic and ecological consequences of the agreement between Europe and Mercosur, the report of the Commission chaired by Stéphan Ambec and submitted to Prime Minister Jean Castex on September 18, prompted the reaction of many peasant trade unionists as well as certain professionals of the meat industry in France. In a joint press release, the FNSEA and the Young Farmers union say they are “comforted by the Ambec report which confirms that the enormous difference in terms of production standards would lead to unfair competition for certain key sectors of European production. The conclusion is simple, the import of agricultural products from Mercosur would jeopardize the viability of entire sections of French agriculture, ”believe these two unions.
For a differential treatment of the agricultural sector


In another paragraph of their joint press release we can read this: “it is the very concept of free trade agreements that must be reviewed to promote regulated trade, differential treatment of the agricultural sector and allow all countries of the world solidarity in food sovereignty ”. The FNSEA has not always used this language in the past. We can therefore think that the experience of the peasant world in recent years has also made the union activists of the specialized associations of the FNSEA reflect in the various production sectors.

The second union in the country with electoral influence, the Rural Coordination delivers its findings through the voice of its president Bernard Lannes: “The EU-Mercosur agreement provides for increasing imports of meat, sugar and soybeans from the Mercosur countries. , the production of which is industrializing strongly due to the aggressive orientation towards exports ”. Opposite, he continues, “peasants in Europe face significant challenges in producing food in a way that respects the climate and animal welfare, which leads to increased costs for farms. However, the increasing and unskilled imports from Mercosur countries intensify the pressure on costs for farming families and European peasants ”. Like the FNSEA and the JA, the Rural Coordination is opposed to the ratification of this agreement, which is also the case for the Confédération paysanne and MODEF from the start.

Suspend the provisional application of CETA

The FNSEA specialized union in the production of beef cattle, the National Bovine Federation (FNB) believes in a press release that “an immediate halt must be given to this free trade policy!” Whatever the commercial issues, the EU must no longer authorize the importation of products that do not strictly meet European production standards (…) The provisional application of CETA must therefore be suspended. The agreement with Mercosur must be rejected from the first stage of ratification, i.e. the vote for its signature by the Member States, in the Council of the EU, which the former European Commissioner for Commerce had announced for the month of October, ”recalls the FNB.

Irish national Phil Hogan had become commissioner in charge of trade in the new commission after having been an incompetent commissioner in charge of agriculture in that chaired by the Luxembourger Jean-Claude Juncker. In August he was led to hand in his resignation to Ursula Von der Leyen after attending a gala dinner for 80 people in Dublin in contradiction with the sanitary rules of the moment.
France must reject these two agreements

Farmers and their unions are not alone in opposing these free trade agreements. The Cattle and Meat inter-profession known by the acronym “Interbev” writes this in a recent press release: “on reading the report on CETA, the inter-professional organization considers unacceptable the many failures highlighted by the European Commission on the systems of Canadian meat traceability. It is clear that this system of traceability and control of meat exported by Canada to the European Union does not guarantee to date that these meats are hormone-free and anabolic-free ”.

While the Senate has just been partly renewed, it now has solid arguments for not ratifying CETA, this free trade agreement signed between Europe and Canada and approved in 2019 by a vote of the Assembly. national when the LaREM group was still in the majority.

Gerard Le Puill


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