Margaux Fodéré//Photo credits: JEAN-CHRISTOPHE VERHAEGEN / AFP 7:49 a.m., January 30, 2024

Since the start of their protest, farmers have denounced the free trade agreement between the European Union and Latin American countries, under negotiation since 1999. The latter notably provides for a reduction in customs duties for imports from 'South America.

A moratorium on free trade agreements is at the forefront of the demands of French agricultural unions who, of all persuasions, see it as unfair competition, even if certain sectors of agriculture can benefit from it. The draft agreement with the Latin American bloc Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay), under discussion since 1999, is the most reviled.

Emmanuel Macron is due to meet this Thursday with the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen with an exchange on Mercosur on the agenda. The president is fiercely opposed to it. What exactly does this text provide?

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Different production conditions

Like other agreements before it, Mercosur allows for a reduction in customs duties. For example, Brazil will be able to export more beef to Europe than today while paying fewer taxes. This prospect worries French farmers all the more as production standards in Brazil are less restrictive: "Attention today is focused more on the production conditions of these agricultural products. This is something which is much more difficult to negotiate", underlines Elvire Fabry, head of trade geopolitics at the Jacques Delors Institute. 

Small, weakened farms

Faced with this competition, all French farmers are not armed in the same way. Some produce enough volume to remain competitive. Others, on the other hand, are more vulnerable, estimates Xavier Hollande, professor at Kedge Business School and specialist in agricultural issues: "Who will be penalized the most? Ultimately, it is the small farm that will undoubtedly see a evil eye these products come to compete with its production.

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In return, France also hopes to increase its exports of wines, spirits and even cheeses. Typically French products that sell very well abroad.