"European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is due to visit Brazil on Monday to finalise the landmark trade pact, which the 27-member union has been negotiating with the Mercosur trade bloc for more than 20 years. The agreement is being negotiated with four Mercosur members: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. But the Commission first has to get the approval of the EU member states before signing any trade deal, and Paris has made its objection to the deal with the Mercosur countries clear."
"Earlier on Sunday, in an interview with the German financial daily Handelsblatt, French Minister of the Economy and Finance Roland Lescure also said that the treaty as it stands, is simply not acceptable. He added that securing robust and effective safeguard clauses was one of the three key conditions France set before giving its blessing to the agreement. He said the other key points were ensuring that the same production standards that EU farmers face are implemented and proper import controls are established."
France urged the European Union to postpone a vote on the Mercosur trade deal because conditions are not yet in place. Paris stated that EU member states cannot vote on the agreement in its current state and asked for deadlines to be pushed back to secure legitimate protections for European agriculture. Ursula von der Leyen is due to travel to Brazil as the EU still requires member-state approval before signing. The deal involves Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. France set three key conditions: robust safeguard clauses, equal production standards for farmers, and proper import controls; farmers fear unfair competition.
Read at www.aljazeera.com
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