“Irish Government must end any prospect of Mercosur trade deal now” – Matt Carthy TD
The Sinn Féin spokesperson on Agriculture, Matt Carthy TD, has said that it is unacceptable that the EU-Mercosur trade deal remains an open prospect. He called on the Irish government to end any further progress of the agreement, which would allow for the importation of one hundred thousand additional tonnes of beef into the EU market, now. Otherwise, government parties lose all credibility on their Climate Action rhetoric, he said.
Teachta Carthy said:
“It is beyond ironic that while, in Ireland, there was a sustained discussion on the role of agriculture in our domestic carbon emissions, the Brazilian meat industry was unveiling plans to increase the cattle herd there by 6.5million in order to meet projected export demand. This increase represents the equivalent of this state’s entire beef and dairy herd.
“Meanwhile, EU Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius has indicated that he expects the EU-Mercosur trade deal to advance by the end of this year, thereby facilitating the importation of a significant amount of that Brazilian beef into Europe.
“Irish Farmers can and must take measures to reduce emissions. But we cannot expect those actions to be taken while the European Commission is preparing to sign off on a trade deal that will undo any positive impact that our domestic actions have.
“Due to pressure from farm organisations and Sinn Féin, government Ministers have told the Dáil that they are now opposed to the EU-Mercosur trade deal. But, it appears, that they have yet to tell the European Commission. Ireland has a veto on this trade deal – government must inform the EU that we intend to use it and thereby end any further progress on this disastrous agreement. Otherwise, government parties will lose all credibility on their recent Climate Action rhetoric.
“The Mercosur trade deal offers nothing positive for Ireland. It is bad for our most important indigenous sector, bad for our overall economy and disastrous for the environment. It must be rejected, now”.
ENDS
