We are approaching a finalised vote on the Mercosur deal and the beef farmers of Ireland are directly in the line of fire in the event that our government supports this deal. The strengthened ‘safeguards’ are a tacit acknowledgement of the inherent threat that the deal poses to farmers in Europe. They do not prevent harm, only set a boundary at the point that harm will be limited.
The summary states: “For sensitive products, a price undercut of 8% by products coupled with either a 8% increase in preferential import volumes on a three-year average or a 8% drop in import prices, will as a rule be treated as sufficient grounds to launch an investigation.”
Irish beef farmers already operate within unsustainable margins and face unacceptable challenges. The suckler cow population has declined by more than 250,000 in the last 10 years. The Teagasc National Farm Survey 2022 reports that the number of small farms declined from 72,830 in 1991 to 48,356 in 2020. This represents an annualised rate of decline of 1.5%.
Against that backdrop, price undercuts of 8% combined with a 8% increase in preferential import volumes for the 3 years it would take to calculate the proposed 3-year average, would decimate many farms. When you then add the context of a proposed cut in CAP payments of 20%, a vote to support Mercosur is a vote to further decimate Ireland’s beef sector.
An article in today’s Irish Times states: “What way the Government votes on the controversial Mercosur trade deal has to be seen “in the round” and take account of separate leeway the State was recently given on EU nitrates rules, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.“
The derogation negotiations have concluded and should have no bearing at all on the Mercosur vote, unless the government has committed to support Mercosur as a condition of getting the derogation. How could this action be taken without the support of the farm organisations who surely didn’t support this stance?
If that is the case, then the Irish government has chosen to trade the future of 90,000 farmers so that the derogation would be retained for 7,000 farmers. This kind of horse-trading with people’s livelihoods and pitting farming groups against each other for survival is utterly abhorrent. Where are our safeguards against that?
The eyes of rural Ireland and all Irish food consumers are on our MEPs and we will not forgive those that make a conscious, considered decision to sacrifice us in order to benefit elsewhere.
We attach a digital copy of our petition signed by 3,576 people who are opposed to the Mercosur deal in any form and ask you to make a decision to support the people who elected you.