Trade talks with South American countries restart despite warnings

TRADE talks with four South American countries, including Brazil and Argentina, were officially relaunched in Madrid despite warnings that it could devastate much of the EU’s own beef and poultry industry.

In Brussels, agriculture ministers from only three countries were in favour of reopening the talks that fell through six years ago, mainly over farming subsidies in the EU and tariffs on industrial products in the bloc known as Mercusor.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen is expected to make known his opposition to the talks when he meets his Spanish counterpart, Jose Luis Zapatero at the two-day EU-Mercusor summit that began yesterday in Madrid.

Spain, which currently holds the presidency of the EU, has been pushing for negotiations to resume and has been supported by the Commission President, Jose Manuel Barroso.

Opposition to the talks has been led by France and Ireland and, together with eight other countries, they issued a statement warning of the consequences of allowing agricultural produce into the EU tarrif-free.

IFA president John Bryan, in Brussels yesterday for the meeting, said the Spanish and Mr Barroso appeared to be willing to sacrifice the Union’s beef, poultry and pork industry to allow greater access to the South American market for services such as banking and telecoms.

“Ireland is the third biggest exporter of high-end beef in the world with almost all going to the rest of the EU. We would be hit five times harder than any other producing country if we throw open the market like this,” he said.

Costs would be driven down, making it impossible for beef producers in Ireland to compete, Mr Bryan said.

“Brazil can produce beef at a quarter of the cost because they operate huge ranches, labour costs are near slave wages, they use hormones and GM technology and do not operate to the same health and safety standards,” he said.

At the same time Brazil is cutting down rain forest identified as essential to combat the increase in climate change, to provide more grazing for cattle.

“It does not make sense that on the one hand the EU wants to lead the world in resolving global warming and at the same time is willing to encourage Brazil cut down rain forest to rear cattle that produce five times the carbon output as animals reared in Europe,” said the IFA leader.

The talks were launched despite the commission’s own advice that reopening trade talks with Mercursor – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay with Venezuela about to join – could be counter productive.

Spain and Portugal have traditionally strong links with South America and Spanish companies are shareholders in telecoms and other businesses.