Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment, Peter Burke has met with EU Trade Commissioner Maros Sefcovic to discuss priority trade issues for Ireland such the Mercosur trade deal.
Concerns over the controversial trade deal topped the minister’s agenda for the meeting, which resulted in agreement for a delegation to visit Ireland.
Earlier this month (December 6), the EU reached political agreement with four Mercosur countries – Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay – on the trade deal.
The EU Commission said that as part of the deal the EU “will grant very limited access to its market to imports of agri-food products”.
“For sensitive products like beef, poultry or sugar, in particular, access to the EU market will be permanently limited through gradually implemented quotas.
“A a bilateral safeguard clause can be applied in case increased imports from Mercosur cause – or even only threaten to cause – serious injury to the relevant EU sectors,” the commission said at the time.
Today (Monday, December 16), Minister Peter Burke said: “As Minister for Trade, but also as a public representative from a farming background in a rural constituency, I have expressed my concerns over possible unintended consequences of the Mercosur agreement.
“While no final decision on adoption is imminent, I believe that all stakeholders, and the farming community in particular, need to be fully informed of all aspects of the proposed future trade arrangements with the Mercosur bloc.
“Throughout the negotiations on this agreement, the commission has been made aware of Ireland’s key requirements in relation to the trade and sustainability commitments in the agreement.
“Furthermore, we continue to make the commission aware of our model of farming here, including the practices that farmers have implemented over the last number of decades and the sustainability measures which are now the bedrock of Irish farming.”
Burke added that Irish and European farmers have invested significant resources into sustainability, and said there should be the same high standards for all products entering the EU market to ensure a level playing field.
“Following my discussions with Commissioner Sefcovic, we have agreed that the commission will send a special mission to Ireland to meet and engage directly with representatives of the farming organisations,” the minister continued.
“My department will facilitate a series of discussions early in 2025. I am confident that this will help ensure an informed understanding for all sides of the consequences of the new Mercosur agreement text.”