Glyphosate move could pose challenge for UK

Reports suggest the EU’s commissioners will agree to re-license glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup and the world’s most widely used herbicide.

However, conditions may be imposed to head off criticism from pressure groups and some MEPs. They are continuing to press for the precautionary principle to be applied, although scientific advice is clear that the product is not a carcinogen.

This could see the re-licensing period reduced from 15 to 10 years, along with a commitment that Brussels will continue monitoring the safety of the product.

A challenge for the UK Government will be how far it can divorce itself from EU regulation after Brexit. Doing so would mean setting up a UK-only licensing mechanism, which may not be accepted as a basis for trade with the EU-27.

The French lobby organisation that represents sheep farmers, FNO, says the European Commission needs to protect the industry against imports.

With Brexit approaching, it is now classing the UK along with New Zealand and Australia as a potential threat.

It says tough quotas or the exclusion of sheepmeat from trade negotiations is needed.

FNO claims that New Zealand legs of lamb can be sold in Europe for around a third of what is costs to produce in the EU. While this is the view of a special interest group, it gives a hint of the pressures the UK will face to secure access to the EU-27.

The European Commission says it hopes to conclude a free trade deal with Mexico by the end of the year.

This is the latest in a series of high-profile trade deals under negotiation, including Australia, New Zealand and the Mercosur countries of South America.

Mexico is seen as a good potential market for dairy products and pork from Europe, with processing plants in a number of countries already approved for export.

Each of these trade deals adds to the pressure on the UK to conclude early and ambitious trade deals after Brexit, before the EU becomes too well established as a competitor.

Pressure is growing to drive the post-2020 CAP in an ever-more green direction. The European Commission already has more than 300,000 responses to a consultation document, largely supporting a greater focus on environmental gains and less on farm incomes.

Now a consortium of environmental groups has joined forces with a report claiming that CAP has not delivered for the environment or climate change mitigation, and demanding that this is tackled in the new CAP.

British lamb imports represent a threat to the EU sheep farming industry, according to French lobby group FNO.