France, facing a presidential election in weeks, has blocked an EU trade deal with Mexico which would allow in 20,000 tonnes of beef imports and wants to make it tougher to access the bloc’s markets, Reuters reports.
The European Union’s second largest economy runs a consistent overall trade surplus with non-EU countries and its companies benefit from the lower tariffs of trade deals, but farmer sensitivity to beef imports in particular makes trade politically explosive.
A new trade pact might arouse the anger of French farmers, which could adversely impact on President Emmanuel Macron’s expected – but not guaranteed – re-election bid in April.
Interbev, France’s meat federation, urged the president to oppose the deal and block ongoing negotiations that could lead to further “ultra-competitive” meat imports from the likes of Australia, New Zealand or the Mercosur bloc, comprising Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
Conveniently for Macron, and the French farmers, France holds the rotating presidency of the bloc for the first half of the year, giving it the chance to steer EU policy.
One trade agreement that would normally have been put to EU governments for approval is the update of an existing deal with Mexico, signed in 2020, which would allow in 20,000 tonnes of beef imports.
Trade talks were indeed suspended with Australia after French fury over a cancelled submarine contract. France also put on hold the conclusion of negotiations to modernise its trade deal with Chile, according to EU diplomats and officials.
“The (EU) Commission has accepted, due to the importance of the election and the sensitivities around trade and globalisation, that nothing will get through. It’s frustrating. We can complain, but this is how it is,” said one EU diplomat.
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