December 24, 2022

 

Livestock farmers in France criticise recent EU-Chile trade agreement

Livestock farmers in France have criticised the recent EU-Chile trade deal, which lowers most tariffs between the two trading blocs, because it exempts Chile from adhering to the same rules that bind EU member states, Euractiv reported.

 

20 years after the initial agreement was signed in 2002, the EU and Chile reached an agreement on a new "Advanced Framework Agreement" on December 9. Although the agreement primarily addresses imports of raw materials, it also covers meat.

 

The main farmer's union in France, the FNSEA, said agriculture and its most delicate industries served as the basis for the most recent negotiations, adding that the concessions are piling up agreement after agreement.

 

Pork, sheep, and beef exports from Chile to France could total 9,000, 4,000, and 2,000 tonnes annually.

 

The amount of poultry would rise from 18,000 tonnes to almost 40,000 tonnes annually, ensuring that France, which currently imports 1 million chickens while producing 800 million of its own poultry, would receive an additional 45 million birds.

 

Yann Nédéléc, the director of ANVOL, the interprofessional body for the French poultry industry, said that the issue is with the accumulation and coherence of European decisions.

He said they are going to impose regulations and tighten production controls to strengthen animal welfare in particular, but Europe signs agreements that bring in goods that don't adhere to the same rules.

 

Poultry producers are issuing a specific health advisory. Because of "deficiencies" among meat producers, ANVOL said health tests conducted in 2020 by the European Commission led to the suspension of Chilean imports.

 

In addition to using growth promoters and antibiotics that are illegal here, farmers also engage in unfair competition, Nédéléc said, adding that that "labour costs are much lower in Chile so social factors primarily explain the competitive gap.

 

Farmers who raise sheep and cattle are in the same boat. The the National Bovine Federation (FNB) said Chilean farms will not necessarily respect European rules on traceability, animal feed, use of veterinary medicines, use of phytosanitary products and animal welfare.

 

-      Euractiv