Global trade discussions in recent times have revolved around the US concluding a Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal with Asian trading partners plus Australia and New Zealand.

This has to be ratified by the individual countries, which will involve plenty of arm twisting, but is expected to happen. There is considerable support in the US congress but even there it’s thought the Obama administration will get its way.

For Europe, the only show in town appeared to be the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the US and the EU.

Frustration

These trade agreements being pursued by the US are a result of the frustration to achieve any meaningful progress at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) talks this century. Another apparently stalled discussion has involved the EU and Mercosur which have their origins back as far as 1995 and have stopped and started on a number of occasions since.

However, Brazil on behalf of fellow Mercosur members (Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) is tabling a proposal at the WTO ministerial meeting in Nairobi next month to abolish agricultural export subsidies.

Reports from Brussels suggest that the EU is prepared for serious engagement with Mercosur.

A trade agreement with South American countries has serious implications for Irish farmers, particularly beef producers. With the US, we have at least the prospect of supplying manufacturing beef to them, even if the EU market was opened for US steak meat. If the EU managed to hold firm on not accepting hormone- or antibiotics-treated beef, it could be that the US would not bother much with the EU as other global markets they currently supply are attractive in their own right.

With the South American countries, there is no prospect of an upside. In Brazil, prices are now at the equivalent of €2.20/kg and they are supplying cheap beef to the world market.

This has hit Irish export business hard, wiping out sales of higher fat content manufacturing beef and flanks to the Philippines, which had been such a lucrative market for Ireland in 2014. Uruguay is on the equivalent of €3.03/kg, still well below the Irish price.