She had intended to speak about the flashpoints in international politics, Greenland and Ukraine, and US President Donald Trump, but the journalists present kept returning to the issue of the Mercosur agreement and how her party scuppered its ratification. Mercosur, the EU's major trade deal with the four South American countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay, was meant to be a sign of hope in a world of increasing nationalism a boost to trade based on rules, not punitive tariffs.
France is a great trading nation. France is the world's sixth largest food exporter. Why are French farmers and French politicians so viscerally hostile to trade? French farmers get over 9 billion a year in subsidies from Brussels, more than any other country. And yet they oppose any EU trade agreement which would help other industries but might provide limited competition to farmers.
Italy has increased its demands around safeguards in the Mercosur trade deal, even as EU officials insist the long-delayed agreement is edging closer to completion, a development that has sharpened tensions within the Irish Government ahead of a major farmer-led protest planned for Saturday. Rome is now seeking to lower the trigger point for suspending Mercosur imports to 5pc, down from the 8pc threshold currently proposed, Italy's stance on the deal is said to be decisive ahead of a crucial EU vote expected on Friday.
