Copa and Cogeca Beef Working Party Chairman Jean-Pierre Fleury said “Over 75% of our beef imports – 246, 000 tonnes – already come from these countries and it is unacceptable that the EU has increased its offer in return for concessions in other sectors. We need fair and balanced trade agreements which also ensure that our market is not oversupplied, otherwise growth and jobs in our rural areas will be threatened. Now is not the time to propose this when we do not know the impact of the talks of the exit of the UK from the EU. With 52% of Irish beef destined for the UK market, we cannot put further pressure on the EU beef market in a trade pact with the Latin American countries.”
The Commission’s own reports also show that they have not been able to respect the EU’s phytosanitary rules”, added Fleury.
“Trade must be minimized too for sugar, poultry, ethanol, rice and orange juice imports to the EU. We already import huge volumes from these countries and get no reciprocity from them. We urge Member States to act before the end of the negotiations”, Copa and Cogeca Secretary-General Pekka Pesonen concluded.
