EU-USA/TRADE VOTE PREVIEW EU Parliament to vote on EU-US trade agreement on June 10

Record ID: 150820

  • Title: EU-USA/TRADE VOTE PREVIEW EU Parliament to vote on EU-US trade agreement on June 10
  • Date: 9th June 2015
  • Summary: WORMS, GERMANY (FILE - MAY 24, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF ELECTORAL RALLY GERMAN CHANCELLOR AND CDU PARTY LEADER ANGELA MERKEL AT RALLY (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN CHANCELLOR AND CDU PARTY LEADER, ANGELA MERKEL, SAYING: "There will be no import of chlorine-washed chickens from the United States. I have prevented it for years and will continue to do so. There is no question
  • Embargoed: 24th June 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Germany
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAE1U34WC85NGJ45DWFNB08FGP6
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: Its proponents said it could generate $100 billion a year in economic growth for both the EU and the United States, creating jobs and profits across both continents. Those against it in the European Union fear a lowering of food, health and labor standards as well as a partial privatisation of the justice system. All note the relative opacity of the trade talks, saying little information filters from the negotiations teams who have been meeting regularly since July 2013.
    On June 10, the European Parliament will vote in a plenary session on how it wants the negotiations led by the European Commission to progress. The vote is not binding, but because the final text will eventually go back to Parliament for its approval it will be a good indicator of what the final agreement may look like. It should be an indicator of the areas of concerns and point to what is negotiable or not.
    The food sector reflects the ambivalent attitudes towards the trade talks.
    Andre Petit from European farmers' union Copa-Cogeca said Europe's wine and cheese sector should benefit from an agreement because the agreement is set to include the protection of geographic indications (GIs).
    In Europe many wines, and some foods such as cheeses, are associated with a particular region or "terroir", where climatic or soil conditions and traditional working methods can lend the product a special quality. Many countries protect the names, or appellations, of these regions as a brand, whose abuse could mislead consumers.
    EU fruits and vegetables exports could benefit from the agreement too, Petit said, because export will be made easier and clearer: norms and procedures will be clearly defined.
    At a market in Amsterdam, cheese sellers proudly exhibit the cheeses that made their country famous.
    "It's good for the trade, for the cheese. To export the best qualities to the United States and other countries... We are famous about the cheese!" said cheese shop owner Bart Kaas.
    The United States is Europe's first export market for wine. EU exports to the U.S. represent 2.5 billion euros; U.S. imports to the EU some 450 million euros, the CEEV or Representative body of the EU industry and trade in wines.
    Since 2006, the E.U. and U.S. wine sector are linked through a bilateral agreement - a first step towards setting up common practices and regulating geographic appellations or ''geographic indications'' (GIs).
    TTIP would help improve trade mechanisms even further, thus making exporting towards the U.S. easier, CEEV Secretary General Dr. Ignacio Sanchez Recarte said.
    "The United States is one of our main markets, our main export market and what the TTIP will enable us to do is to improve trade mechanisms, improve the protection of geographic appellations and as of today we only see positive intentions of these negotiations," Recarte said.
    With heavy competition from Latin American wines, an agreement is essential.
    "Our European wines will stay on the American market but it's true to say that if we are not able to improve the way they are being sold in the United States some of our share could be taken by other wines like Chilean wines, Argentinean wines, and it could, logically, limit our share of the market and the export of European wines to the United States," Recarte added.
    Because export procedures would be easier and sanitary controls clearer, small and medium wine producers should benefit too, Recarte said.
    Where it will be more difficult for the EU to compete will be in the meat production. Because of the size of U.S. farms and the methods employed there, European poultry and pig farmers and beef producers may find it harder to compete or to be protected by the agreement, Petit also said.
    Jean Marlier produces 60,000 chicken a year. He said the difference of standards between the U.S. and the EU means it will be impossible to be competitive.
    "I am worried because we have different environmental, sanitary and animal welfare regulations than in the United States. For example for animal welfare, the density is regulated and we have a control in slaughterhouse of the quality of the feet and the bodies. If we don't meet those standards we are penalised and we have to reduce the amount of chickens in the farm. This is concrete, at a European level," Marlier said.
    European regulations limit the number of chicks per square meter. Belgium's farming federation said there are about twice as many chickens per square meter in the United States than in Europe for a certain surface area.
    The poultry industry also says the EU has higher standards when it comes to animal welfare and the prevention of sickness.
    In the European Union, antibiotics are used and the idea that the U.S. technique of disinfecting chickens with chlorine might be introduced here has alarmed Germans and created suspicions about an EU-U.S. accord.
    On the campaign trail for her reelection, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to forbid the import of chlorine-washed chickens.
    "There will be no import of chlorine-washed chickens from the United States. I have prevented it for years and will continue to do so. There is no question about that."
    Brussels says there will be no change in policy even with a U.S. deal.
    Another matter that raised anxiety among European citizens is the ISDS -- Investor-state dispute settlement.
    Washington says any deal must include ways for investors to settle disputes, while some Europeans fear large U.S. companies would use arbitration to bully governments and challenge EU food and environmental laws.
    While an accord will not be ready before 2016, the European Parliament must establish its position, while the U.S. Congress must decide whether to grant President Barack Obama "fast-track" powers to negotiate trade deals.
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