EU Commissioner Phil Hogan has stated there would be “no deal” on Mercosur unless EU negotiations are satisfied that strong standards will apply to all produce, the Irish Independent reports.
Speaking about the ongoing negotiations regarding Mercosur and the quality of its exports, Commissioner Hogan said, "There is no evidence that Brazil is serious about doing a deal at the moment because they are in election mode. So the ball is in their court."
Hogan added that anyone looking to do a free-trade deal with the EU must adhere to its standards in quality.
The EU Commission recently banned 20 Brazilian meat plants from exporting their products to the EU. This includes 19 poultry plants and one beef plant.
The decision was welcomed by the IFA, who warned the EU Commission that Brazil will ‘continue to fail on standards and [EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom] should pull the plug on any additional beef imports in the negotiations’.
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Aidan O’Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
