THE IRISH Farmers’ Association yesterday staged a sit-in protest in the Dublin offices of the European Commission.
About 30 protesters – members of the livestock committee – entered the European Union House on Dawson Street at 3pm yesterday with sleeping bags and signs saying “Stop EU Beef Sell-Out to Brazil”.
The farmers, who remained in the building after its closing time last night, were demonstrating against the EU and Mercosur trade negotiations due to take place next week. Mercosur, the largest trading block in South America, represents Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay.
The IFA argues that the deal being proposed with the body poses a multi-billion-euro threat to the agricultural sector by allowing Brazil export large amounts of cheap beef to Europe as a result of lower tariffs.
“The negative impact from a Mercosur deal would seriously damage our economic recovery and inflict major job losses at farm and industry level across the country” said IFA president John Bryan.
“The EU cannot hand over half of our high-value steak market to South America, who fail to meet EU food safety standards,” he said.
IFA national livestock committee chairman Michael Doran said that there were fundamental contradictions between the EU’s desire to be a leader in climate change and its trade policy.
“The EU is prepared to accept a major increase in beef imports from Brazil and other South American countries where a recent EU study found the carbon footprint is up to four times higher than Irish beef,” he said.