Agricultural goods off the menu as EU and US agree to fresh trade talks
THE UK will replace the Common Agricultural Policy’s land-based subsidies with “a new system of public money for public goods”.
British prime minister Theresa May (above) promised to deliver a post-Brexit farming policy that “works for farmers and food producers, while improving the environment”.
But she committed to maintaining existing CAP levels of funding for farmers until the end of the current parliamentary term in 2022.
“Scrapping the Common Agricultural Policy, and introducing a simpler system which provides funds in return for public goods, like improving water quality, reducing emissions and planting wild flower meadows to boost biodiversity, is fundamental to our new approach,” Ms May said in Wales last week.
“I want to make the most of the freedoms provided by Brexit to design a new scheme that is less bureaucratic, and does away with the overly prescriptive information farmers currently have to provide to apply for grants.” THE EU has insisted its farmers will not lose out as the bloc begins limited trade talks with the US.
Agricultural products — except for soybeans — will be off the menu during the talks, a senior EU official said, as will quotas for hormone-treated beef (which are subject to separate talks). The talks will instead focus on industrial goods (except for cars).
The EU imports around 30 million tonnes of soy products a year, around a third of it from the US, and says it is willing to import more from America as long as prices remain low. Soy is essential for animal feed, particularly for pork and poultry production, and prices have tumbled in the wake of extra Chinese duties on American soy exports.
“We’re talking about market forces here,” the EU official said. “We’re not going to turn into a Soviet-style economy.”
But US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said the talks would include “all agricultural products”, while US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said “we are negotiating about agriculture”.
“It’s clear the US side would have liked to have that, but it has not been agreed,” the official added. “Mr Ross can say what he wishes but it does not correspond to the joint statement.”
The talks are to begin in the coming days, but will take months to complete, as the Commission will have to seek
The EU says it has averted a trade war, and secured a promise that the US will not proceed with tariffs on European cars and car parts as long as the talks are ongoing.
The deal came just two days after agriculture commissioner Phil Hogan advocated for a “hardline approach” to Trump. “You can only deal with someone who is trying to bully you into a certain course of action in an irresponsible way by bullying them back,” he told an audience at the MacGill summer school in Glenties.
Deal welcomed
Most EU countries have welcome the deal, with Austrian president Sebastian Kurz saying it was “good” that presidents Juncker and Trump were working together.
But French finance minister Bruno Le Maire warned the EU not to get into wide-ranging trade talks with the US, and insisted agriculture remain “out of the scope” of the discussions.
The EU said the deal “does not in any sense amount to resuscitating” the failed transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP), which was put on hold after Trump’s 2016 election.
Those talks failed largely because the US failed to open up state public procurement contracts to foreign companies. Mr Le Maire said talks with the US should include public procurement and the recent steel and aluminium tariffs.