IFA call to scrap South American trade talks over Brazilian standards

THE IFA has urged the European Commission to abandon trade talks with the Mercosur group of South American countries after the US stopped contaminated Brazilian beef products entering the country.

John Bryan, president, said the latest confirmation by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) that Brazilian beef had again failed to meet acceptable food safety standards underlines the need for an immediate rethink by the Commission on the Mercosur trade talks.

He said the USDA’s Food Safety and Inspection Service had stopped contaminated Brazilian beef imports from entry into the US. In addition, he said a product recall has been issued on some Brazilian beef products in the US, where restrictions already limit imports from the South American country to cooked products only.

“This latest failure to meet animal medicine and food safety controls by Brazil should raise alarm bells with the European Commission. To move ahead with trade talks that will increase beef imports from Brazil is placing the European Union consumer and producers at an unacceptable and unnecessary risk,” he said.

Mr Bryan said the Irish beef sector, as the largest beef exporter in Europe, will suffer by far the greatest losses from any increased South American beef imports under Mercosur.

He said the EU-Mercosur trade talks must be abandoned on the basis that Brazil has consistently failed to meet basic food safety, animal health and animal medicines controls. Brazilian beef also fails to meet EU standards on cattle tagging and traceability.

Mr Bryan said concessions to Mercosur could inflict losses of €350m on the Irish beef sector and would drive the national beef cow herd down the same road as the sugar beet industry which was shut down by WTO trade concessions a number of years ago.

Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly meanwhile, urged the European Commission to ensure equality in standards for agriculture products in any bilateral trade deals.