The general secretary of COAG, Miguel Blanco, has warned that the elections in the US and other EU countries will delay the TTIP negotiations, but that these will gain momentum again afterwards, with new rounds that "we will need to be watchful for."
This was stated by Senor Blanco in Madrid, before taking part in a presentation of the findings of Friends of the Earth, entitled "Impact of the Free Trade Agreement (TTIP) in Spanish agriculture and livestock", prepared by COAG's technical services.
Blanco recalled that the treaty should be ratified by all EU states and their parliaments too, so COAG will ask political groups "to be clear about their stands" and "say if they will back growers and consumers or the multinationals."
One of the negative points of the agreement, according to Blanco, is that it would undermine the quality standards, as standards in the US are more flexible and allow the use of substances that are banned in Europe.
He also considers the GM issue "a very serious ones," given that 70% of foods in the US are genetically modified. In his view, the country wants to open new markets in Europe while potentially jeopardising the EU's "precautionary principle" as a guarantee of food safety.
"We are not against the market, but we ask for it to be free and competitive and not controlled in terms of 'dumping' and unfair competition," pointed out the general secretary.
Blanco is concerned that the treaty with Canada (CETA) is "the starting point" that will pave the way for the TTIP with the US. It is all part of the EU's deregulation strategy, carried out without any transparency and without the participation of the agricultural sector, "merely for the benefit of the economic elites."
For her part, the representative of the technical services of COAG, Iria Costela, also fails to see any opportunities for Spain in a key segment such as fruits and vegetables; a sector which must be authorised by the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service of the US; "a huge administrative burden" and which "will not be negotiated" as part of the TTIP.
According to the report, reducing agricultural tariffs will lead to a fall in domestic prices for producers, but not for consumers, as "tariffs make it possible to protect and stabilise domestic production shipments from abroad."
European agriculture and the food sector would be subject to a process of deregulation as regards food safety regulations, assures the document, and the EU would have to change its protocols.
In terms of intellectual property rights, "the TTIP would act, once again, in favour of seed and chemical multinationals," and "the rights of producers to use their own seeds would be further threatened," according to these experts.
As for quality seals, the US defends private labels above designations of origin and thus "EU seals may be left unprotected and used privately."
"It will be very difficult to create new designations of origin after the agreement has been ratified," states the document.
The maximum residue limits (MRLs), the active ingredients and the food additives used in the US for fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, apples or almonds, are other difficult points.
When it comes to bilateral trade, the US is Spain's largest trading partner outside the EU.
Source: Efeagro
