Copa Cogeca criticize free trade talks between EU and US
Together with Copa and Cogeca Presidents, Mr Pesonen discussed the issue during high level meetings with lawmakers in Washington Friday. Copa President Albert Jan Maat underlined the challenges and opportunities to be had from a potential free trade deal between the EU and US (TTIP). He insisted that there is a good potential for an agreement, without agriculture proving to be a sticking point in the negotiations. Both sides agreed there is potential for growth on both sides of the Atlantic.
Speaking in Washington, Copa President Albert Jan Maat said “Our economies are already well interlinked. The EU-US agricultural trade is fairly balanced and represents a total of 4 billion Euro on both sides. The US is our biggest market for high quality EU agricultural products. Perhaps not surprisingly, we are seeing positive market trends for wine, cheese, processed meat in particular whilst Europe’s livestock sectors rely heavily on US supplies in protein feed. Food safety standards are at a very high level in both the US and EU, despite some differences on how to achieve this”.
He continued “Most of the gains would come from lifting non-tariff trade barriers. Yet production standards also have to be respected. European citizens expect our agriculture to deliver high quality food and services which respect high production standards. That is why it is crucial for us that any agreement is fair and respects consumer expectations and EU production standards and ensures regulatory convergence where possible”.
Cogeca President Christian Pees underlined the agreement with FoodDrinkEurope on regulatory aspects. He stressed “Non-tariff barriers must be tackled. For example, in the fruit and vegetable sector, phytosanitary barriers prevent European fruit from entering the US market. This must be addressed. Furthermore, last year, the EU authorized the use of lactic acid in bovine carcass treatment. In return, the US’s political decision to allow the EU to export beef to the US market must come into force. This would indeed show commitment from the US side too”.
In response, the US delegation assured Copa-Cogeca that they would proceed with the second phase of the process enabling EU beef to enter the market in a matter of weeks.
Source: agri.eu
