EU US TRADE

Irish Agri Sector Cannot Be Sarcrificed In Eu-Us Trade Talks

With the commencement of the EU-US trade talks recently, IFA President John Bryan said these trade negotiations cannot damage our important agricultural sector and particularly our beef and livestock sector. He said Ireland must insist that the EU makes our most important indigenous industry, the agri food sector a red line issue in these negotiations.

The IFA President said there is a real fear that large concessions to the USA in these talks would severely damage Ireland's agri-food sector and threatens thousands of jobs. "A deal involving a substantial increase in beef imports from the US would inflict severe damage on the Irish livestock sector.”

The IFA President said the French Government has made a strong case for it audio-visual sector and is adamant it will not be sacrificed because of its importance to the country. "I want the Taoiseach and the Irish Government to insist that the EU Commission strongly defend our livestock sector, which is even more vital to our economy.”

John Bryan said a recent IFA study of the importance of the Cattle and Sheep sectors to the Irish economy by Professor Alan Renwick from UCD shows that the €2.3bn output at farm gate level creates total economic output of €5.7bn. In addition, the Irish cattle and sheep sectors support 100,000 farmers and over 50,000 jobs in the wider economy.

The IFA President said, "In the current EU/Canada negotiations, the EU Commission trade negotiators have been weak granting Canada access for a substantial volume of beef imports into the EU. There is no doubt the USA will be seeking a major increase in the volumes they already have on the valuable EU beef market.”

John Bryan said European producers and consumers will not accept imports from production systems where the use of hormones in beef, BST growth promoters in milk and the beta-agonist drug ractopamine in cattle and pigs – all banned in Europe – is common practice. "Europe cannot agree to any imports which fail to meet EU standards on the critical issues of food safety, traceability, environmental protection and animal welfare.”