Tipperary farming: Taoiseach urged to intervene in Brussels to stop Mercosur

The Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, has been urged to intervene at the highest levels in Brussels to stop a bad EU-Mercosur trade deal, which would do untold damage to our €3bn beef and livestock sector.

“In view of the major Brexit implications overhanging the Irish and EU beef sector and the environmental degradation associated with Brazilian beef exports, it would be reckless to support a Mercosur deal,” said IFA president Joe Healy.

The IFA president has written to Mr Varadkar requesting him to make it clear now in the strongest possible terms to EU Commission president Jean Claude Juncker that Ireland would not be prepared to ratify a deal which will severely damage our vital national interest in beef production.

There is extreme concern in Brussels that EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom is pushing hard to try and finalise an EU / Mercosur deal later this month before the end of the current Commission mandate.

Mr Healy said that for the EU Commission to ignore the Brexit implications for beef and proceed with a Mercosur deal to import more Brazilian beef was “highly irresponsible”.

He said a no deal Brexit would take the EU beef sector from 102% to 116% self sufficiency, with disastrous consequences for beef prices and farm incomes.

This would be further compounded with any increase in imports from Mercosur.

“How can the Commission ignore the fact that in Brexit the UK could impose tariffs as high as €850m pa on Irish beef and possibly the closure of market access for over 290,000t of our beef exports?” he asked.

Mr Healy said the EU Commission Joint Research Centre conducted an assessment on the cumulative impact of trade deals which showed that increased imports from Mercosur could cost the EU beef sector €5bn to €7bn pa.

In terms of climate change, the IFA president pointed out Irish beef production systems are four times more carbon efficient than South America, where increased exports are driven on the back of deforestation of the Amazon rainforests.

Mr Healy said EU Commission reports consistently prove that South American beef imports, especially imports from Brazil failed to meet EU standards on traceability, food safety, animal health, environmental and labour law.