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.