As the next stage of internal EU negotiations on the Mercosur trade deal draw closer, the Government is on a tight schedule, awaiting the delivery of an independent assessment of the agreement.

Mercosur was agreed in principle in July 2019, with a 99,000t beef quota for the Mercosur countries of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay among the most controversial inclusions in the deal for Irish farmers.

The Fine Gael-led Government at the time promised to undertake an economic assessment of the deal before finalising Ireland’s position.

Earlier this year, Implement Consulting, an independent consultancy firm, was awarded the contract to undertake the assessment.

Assessment

The economic and sustainability impact assessment (ESIA) of the EU-Mercosur agreement is expected to cost just shy of €200,000 and is nearing completion.

It is divided into two major parts. The first is an analysis of the potential economic benefits of the deal. Pharmaceutical firms and car manufactures are expected to be the big winners. On the agriculture side, beef will likely be the biggest loser, while there may be some gains for dairy.

The second half of the assessment is “a robust sustainability impact assessment”, according to Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Leo Varadkar, whose Department is overseeing the work.

In response to a parliamentary question from Sinn Féin’s Eoin Ó Broin, Minister Varadkar said it would consider the social, human rights and environmental impacts the agreement could have on Ireland and the Mercosur countries.

Assist

The Tánaiste said it was his intention that the ESIA would be available to assist his Department and the Department of Agriculture in their decision-making, ahead of the Commission presenting member states with legally proofed texts of the agreement.

These documents are nearing completion and a version was leaked by Greenpeace Germany on Friday.

The Commission could present the EU Council of Trade Ministers with a proposal to decide on signing the agreement as soon as November.

The ESIA is “well advanced”, Minister Varadkar said, with the bulk of the research completed.

“It is my intention that the report will be published once it has been received and considered by the Government,” he concluded.

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