This agreement is one of the points that farmers oppose.
While the rumble continues in France, the European Union (EU) continues its trade discussions with Mercosur, the South American common economic market which brings together Brazil, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Argentina.
Emmanuel Macron opposed it again this Tuesday.
The President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, is due to meet this Thursday in Brussels with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in particular on this subject.
What does the agreement between the EU and Mercosur provide for?
It is one of the most important trade agreements in the world, with nearly 780 million people affected and trade volumes of between 40 and 45 billion euros in imports and exports, according to vie- public.
The negotiations - started in 2000 - culminated politically in 2019 with the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
But opposition from several countries, including France, blocked its final adoption, defended on the other hand by Germany.
Concretely, this agreement provides for almost entirely or partially, depending on the product, to eliminate customs duties between EU and Mercosur member countries, particularly on industrial (vehicles, medicines, etc.) and agricultural issues.
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Main point of tension: the food question.
The agreement plans to establish quotas below which South American products are not taxed: 180,000 tonnes per year for sugar, 100,000 tonnes for poultry and 99,000 tonnes for beef.
The complete list also includes pork (25,000 tonnes per year) and rice (60,000 tonnes per year).
In exchange, taxes imposed on European products by Mercosur would be removed on many products: wine, chocolate, biscuits, soft drinks and even spirits.
Dairy products as well as cheeses produced within the EU would be affected by “large quotas” without taxes, according to the European Commissioner for Agriculture at the time Phil Hogan.
Why are farmers opposed to it?
Large farmers' unions denounce "unfair competition" from large South American farms.
As early as 2018, the former president of the FNSEA - the main farmers' union - Christiane Lambert expressed concern in our columns about the proposed EU-Mercosur agreement.
“30,000 farms are in danger and four sectors are affected: ethanol, sugar, the beef sector and poultry,” she said at the time.
Farmers are also demanding that imported products be subject to the same standards as French products.
At the end of 2023, the French inter-professions of sugar, poultry, cereals and meat regretted the absence of “mirror clauses” on “environmental and health production standards”, recalls Terre-net.
They therefore fear that the European market will be flooded with products that do not meet European standards, such as GMO corn or “chicken doped with antibiotics”.
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The Peasant Confederation, the third agricultural union and classified on the left, for its part demands that France be strongly involved in stopping the negotiations on Mercosur.
What is France's position?
On this point, the answer seems to have always been clear.
France “very clearly opposes” the signing of this agreement, Prime Minister Gabriel Attal insisted this Friday.
This Tuesday again, Emmanuel Macron repeated his opposition to the agreement because the rules are not “homogeneous with ours”.
On Monday, the French presidency had already stated that the negotiations had been interrupted due to France's opposition.
“Our understanding is that it (the Commission) has instructed its negotiators to end the negotiation sessions that were underway in Brazil,” the Élysée underlined.
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As early as August 2019, Emmanuel Macron suspended the signing of this trade agreement.
He notably denounced the “lie” of then Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on the environment and his “inaction in the face of climate change, including fires”.
Same position the following year, faced with the “major” problem of deforestation.
Where are the negotiations?
The conditions for an agreement between Mercosur and the EU “are not met”, the European Commission recognized on Tuesday.
“At present, the Commission's analysis is that the conditions for concluding negotiations with Mercosur are not met,” said Éric Mamer, Commission spokesperson.
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But “discussions continue and the European Union continues to pursue its objective of reaching an agreement which respects the EU's objectives in terms of sustainability and which respects our sensitivities, particularly in the agricultural field,” he added. .
Talks between EU and Mercosur negotiators took place last week in Brazil, and “discussions at technical level will continue,” said Éric Mamer.