Commissioner for Agriculture and Food Cristophe Hansen has "no knowledge" of any mirror clauses in relation to the Mercosur trade deal, Michael McNamara, Independent MEP for Ireland South has said.

Negotiations were reportedly underway around an annex in the Mercosur agreement containing mirror clauses which would require producers from both sides of the world to respect the same environmental and health standards.

MEP McNamara highlighted remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron during a state visit to France by the Brazilian president, expressing concerns about the current draft of the Mercosur deal.

"While expressing support for fair and equitable trade, Macron warned that the current Mercosur deal would require European farmers to compete against South American counterparts on unequal terms since the South Americans would not be subject to the same regulations.

“My colleague, Benoît Cassart MEP, who is also a farmer, expressed scepticism about the prospects of any such additions and I agree,” McNamara added.

Mirage

The promise of mirror clauses, McNamara said, increasingly "appears to be a mirage to placate, and ultimately deceive, farmers and consumers alike.”

McNamara concluded: “The enforcement of any mirror clauses, even if they can be negotiated, simply will not be possible without access to, and supervision of, South American production that simply does not exist. There’s also the difficulty of detecting hormones and supplements, banned in Europe, as pointed out by the Commission’s Directorate-General for Health & Food Safety.”

Attending the largest mart on the European mainland in Ciney, Belgium MEP McNamara said the concerns voiced by farmers are the same as in Ireland.

“Speaking to farmers and their representatives here today, the concerns are the same as in my constituency of Ireland South - the difficulties faced by young farmers to take over family farms, the need to reduce bureaucracy and simplify CAP compliance and, especially, the grave threat posed by Mercosur."