The first French agricultural union, the FNSEA, on Friday welcomed the blocking by Emmanuel Macron controversial trade treaty between the European Union and Mercosur, against a backdrop of environmental disagreement with Brazil on the eve of the G7. "I welcome Emmanuel Macron's wisdom decision to block the signing of the Mercosur agreement." The arguments of the FNSEA were heard! " tweeted union president Christiane Lambert Friday afternoon.
A "decision of wisdom"
"Farmers will follow the proceedings of the G7 summit with interest," adds the boss of the first farmers' organization in France, which has been opposing for months, alongside all the French agricultural organizations, this agreement to trade liberalization signed in June after more than 20 years of negotiations, as well as the one already signed with Canada, CETA.
In a joint statement with Young Farmers (JA), the FNSEA believes that the "no" of France in Mercosur is a "wise decision" for "all French and European farmers", because the treaty "was going to offer food French agriculture, by opening the doors of the European market to products that do not respect French and European production standards ".
The agreement threatens in particular the very existence of the French and Irish cattle industry. "For FNSEA and JA, this decision must be a real awareness on the part of our policy makers to build an international trade based on fair and transparent competition rules," the statement added.
Reprisals against Brazil
Friday, and as wildfires spread rapidly throughout the Amazon, Emmanuel Macron said his Brazilian counterpart Jair Bolsonaro had "lied" about his commitment to the environment, while announcing his opposition to the treaty of EU-Mercosur free trade.
This agreement between the EU and the four Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay) is suspended by a specific commitment of the signatories to implement the Paris agreement on climate, and thus to "promote the positive contribution from trade to development with low greenhouse gas emissions ".