The Irish Farmers' Association has planned a mass protest at the European Commission offices in Dublin next Tuesday to protest over EU concessions in agriculture for the forthcoming world trade talks.
The IFA is hoping to build support on the growing unease arising from the latest offer by European trade commissioner Peter Mandelson to the US in preparation for the next round of the talks in December.
His offer of a 60 per cent cut in the EU's highest tariffs and cuts in lower tariffs, which would reduce the average agricultural tariff of 46 per cent, and a 70 per cent reduction in export refunds has shocked the industry in Ireland.
Mr Mandelson has also offered to eliminate all agricultural export supports by an agreed date if the US and other exporters discipline their export support.
Minister for Agriculture and Food Mary Coughlan expressed her concern at a number of aspects of the offer, especially the further tariff cuts which had been offered and the threat to the EU's system of direct payments.
The Minister said that the issues about which she was most concerned related to the threats to the level of domestic support in the EU, particularly direct payments, and the improved access which will be provided to the EU markets for imports from third countries through tariff cuts.
The Minister insisted that the EU had carried out a radical reform of the Cap by decoupling direct payments and she was absolutely determined to ensure that the exemption from reduction for such payments would continue.
On export subsidies, the Minister said her objective remained that the phasing out should be over the longest possible period and in a manner that best suited Irish interests, and to ensure there was equal treatment for all other forms of export subsidy, in other words a full and meaningful degree of parallelism.
The Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers' Association and the Irish Cattle and Sheepowners' Association joined the IFA in condemning Mr Mandelson's offer. They said he had exceeded his negotiating brief, and the offers were in breach of all existing agreements.
John Dillon, IFA president said that, because of Ireland's export dependence in major sectors such as beef, dairy products and lamb, its agri-food sector was particularly vulnerable to any further import concessions that would lead to massive cutbacks in food production and processing.
President of the ICMSA Pat O'Keeffe, called on the Government to join the French government and veto this "undemocratic and unlawful act by the commission".
The offer has even managed to unite the farmers and the meat factories, with Meat Industry Ireland, representing the factories, coming out in total opposition to the proposals.
Cormac Healy of MII said the magnitude of the import tariff cuts proposed by the commission would effectively open up EU borders to unlimited volumes of imports at prices considerably below prevailing prices for Irish or EU product.
"The domestic beef and lamb sectors in the EU cannot sustain import tariff cuts in the order of 50-60 per cent," Mr Healy said at the weekend.
"Whether or not this really is the final offer from the EU, an outcome on WTO along these lines will have serious consequences for beef and lamb production and primary processing in Ireland."