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The mega trade deal that has French farmers in uproar

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French farmer Alix Heurtault worries that the trade deal could make it difficult for her to continue © Lisa Louis
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As the ink was drying on one of the world’s biggest trade deals, signed in Uruguay this month, and hailed as a milestone for the global economy, anger was brewing thousands of miles away in France.

Under the agreement between the EU on one hand, and Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay on the other, tariffs will be greatly reduced and the amounts of imports and exports allowed will be increased.

The deal would affect almost 800 million people.

It comes as a marked contrast to Donald Trump’s plans to greatly increase protectionism when he returns to the White House next month.

The deal still needs to be approved by the 27 EU member states, and France is planning to block it, due to fears that it will harm its farming sector.

Alix Heurtault, a 34-year-old French farmer, says she is worried about her future if the planned agreement goes ahead.

“I fear that the deal will mean making ends meet becoming even more difficult for farmers like me,” she says.

As a result, she is crossing her fingers that the French government will be able to stop it.

The planned trade agreement will mean more South American beef, chicken and sugar coming to the EU, and at lower prices. While in the opposite direction, the likes of European cars, clothing and wine would have more access to the Mercosur zone.

For France to block the deal it will need to persuade at least three other EU countries, representing at least 35% of the total population to join it. Ireland, Poland and Austria are also opposed, but Italy will likely need to also come on board to achieve the required population quota.

And with the media giving very conflicting reports about Italy’s position, we’ll have to wait and see which way the Italians go when the vote is held some time in 2025.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen signed the deal with South American leaders, but it still needs to be ratified by EU member states
© Getty Images

 

In the meantime, French farmers are continuing to put pressure on Paris to not back down. French President Emmanuel Macron is listening, and has described the trade deal as “unacceptable in its current form”.

Ms Heurtault grows sugar beet, wheat and barley on a 150-hectare farm in the small village of Villeneuve-sur-Auvers located 60km (37 miles) south of Paris.

She says that the deal would see French farmers badly hit in order to help EU manufacturers. “It feels like we’re a bargaining chip. Farmers in the Mercosur countries [the name of the Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay block] have less restrictions regarding pesticides and lower labour costs.”

Ms Heurtault’s view is widely held across the French farming sector, which has been holding regular protests in recent months.

A few weeks ago some 200 farmers dumped bales of straw in front of the Grand Palais museum and exhibition centre in Paris.

They lit up red flares, and chanted slogans like “We are feeding you, show us some respect”.

The protest was held to coincide with an annual meeting of commodities importers and exporters taking place at the venue.

Stéphane Gallais, a cattle farmer and the national secretary of farmers’ union Confédération Paysanne, which had organised the event, explained why it was being held.

“Today’s demonstration is a stance against free trade, especially the EU-Mercosur agreement that we’ve been opposing since it was first discussed in the late 1990s,” he said.

While France is opposed to the trade deal, other EU nations, such as Germany, Spain and Portugal are strongly in favour of it.

Proponents welcome the fact it would be a marked contrast to Trump’s threats of increased protectionism.

“It would be a good signal at a time when we have movement in the opposite direction towards economic fragmentation and protectionism, especially with free-trade sceptic US President Donald Trump re-elected,” says Uri Dadush, a research professor for trade policy at the University of Maryland in the US.

Prof Dadush adds that while European farmers will be negatively impacted, he says this will be very limited.

“The deal is a threat for European farmers, as the world’s most competitive agricultural sector gets access to their market, but we’re talking about a tiny amount of liberalisation spread out over a long period of time,” he says.

He points out that under the agreement the Mercosur nations would still have limits on what they can export to the EU. Such as their proposed initial increased annual quota of beef exports still only accounting for less than 1% of EU consumption of the meat.

Prof Dadush adds that “the deal is an opportunity to push for much needed market-orientated reform in the heavily-subsidised EU agricultural sector, and Mercosur’s highly-protected factory sector”.

Chris Hegadorn, adjunct professor for global food policies at Paris-based university Sciences Po, and former secretary of the UN’s Committee on World Food Security, says the agreement would overall be beneficial to Europe – including its farmers.

“It obviously depends on the subcategory you’re looking at, but French cheese and wine producers will benefit,” he says.

He adds that it will also improve health and environmental standards in the Mercosur countries, and increase ties with the EU at a time when “China is also trying to get a foothold in Latin America”.

But David Cayla, lecturer for economics at Angers University in western France and member of the left-wing collective “The Dismayed Economists”, doubts the EU will be able to enforce higher standards in Latin American countries.

“It’s impossible to control their implementation,” he says. “Our farmers will only face increased competition from countries with a better climate and more fertile soils.

“But we need to protect European agriculture – that’s also a question of food sovereignty,” he emphasizes, adding that the Covid-19 pandemic showed how quickly worldwide supply chains could collapse in times of crisis.

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Imo State Government bans all forms of task force in the state

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His Excellency the Governor of Imo State, Dist. Sen.  (Dr) Hope Uzodinma, CON, GSSRS, has approved the ban on all forms of task force currently operating under any guise or MDA in the state.

Ekwutosblog reports that in a Public Service Announcement issued by the Secretary to the State Government the public is advised to be guided accordingly,  subsequently.

The ban on task force in the state has become necessary following their incessant activities which has constituted nuisances to the general public and paints the image of the government in bad light.

Following the approval of His Excellency, on this issue, Government therefore warns that anyone or group of persons operating as task force under any guise will be apprehended by security operatives who have been directed to get rid of all forms of task force in the State and such culprits would be made to face the full weight of Law.

I.A OGUZIE Npom Fcal
For secretary to the State Government.

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One dead, three injured in Jos Sara-Suka fight

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One person was killed, and three others sustained injuries in a violent clash between rival groups known as Sara-Suka in the Yantifa community of Jos North Local Government Area, Plateau State.

According to residents, members of the rival gangs, armed with machetes, attacked one another on Tuesday evening, causing panic and forcing people to flee.

A local vigilante, Lawan Chizo, confirmed the incident and said security forces, including soldiers, were deployed to restore order.

He noted that the clash involved members of the Sara-Suka groups from Anguwan Rogo and Yantifa, who have been engaged in ongoing conflicts.

“There is still fear among residents, but normalcy has been restored,” Chizo stated.

In response to the violence, the Plateau State Commissioner of Police has called for an emergency meeting with community leaders to address the activities of Sara-Suka in the area.

The latest violence comes just two days after three members of Sara-Suka were killed in another clash near the Al-Mohap praying ground.

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Myanmar earthquake death toll crosses 3,000

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Death toll from Myanmar’s devastating earthquake has surpassed 3,000, with hundreds more missing.

This is as forecasts of unseasonal rain presented a new challenge for rescue and aid workers trying to reach people in a country riven by civil war.

Ekwutosblog reports that the last Friday’s 7.7-magnitude quake, one of the Southeast Asian nation’s strongest in a century, jolted a region home to 28 million, toppling buildings, flattening communities and leaving many without food, water and shelter.

 

Myanmar’s embassy in Japan said on Facebook that on Wednesday, deaths rose to 3,003 with 4,515 injured and 351 missing, while rescuers scramble to find more.

However, conditions could get even tougher for the huge relief effort after weather officials warned unseasonal rain from Sunday to April 11 could threaten the areas hardest-hit by the quake, such as Mandalay, Sagaing and the capital Naypyidaw.

“Rain is incoming and there are still so many buried. And in Mandalay, especially, if it starts to rain, people who are buried will drown even if they’ve survived until this point,” an aid worker in Myanmar said.

The embassy in Japan added in its post that there have been 53 airlifts of aid to Myanmar, while more than 1,900 rescue workers arrived from 15 countries, including Southeast Asian neighbours and China, India and Russia.

According to state television, despite the devastation, junta chief Min Aung Hlaing will leave his disaster-stricken country on Thursday for a rare trip to a regional summit in Bangkok.

The visit is said to be an uncommon foreign visit for a general regarded as a pariah by many countries and the subject of Western sanctions and an International Criminal Court investigation.

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