Commissioner Hogan promise to act fast in the meat market crisis issue
An item regarding the safeguarding of the EU meat market was included this week on the agenda of EU Agrifish Council thanks to the pressure from Poland and Ireland that are complaining about the disturbance created in the single market by the Ukranian poultry sector and tariffs announced by the UK government in case of a no-deal Brexit, informs Euractiv magazine.
In a press conference, EU commissioner for agriculture Phil Hogan reassured the officials about the availability of suitable market measures in the event of any significant market disruption.
“We have a lot of experience in dealing with these market disturbances related to market developments. There is a long way to go in terms of the schedule of tariffs that will be acceptable to be negotiated under the WTO rules”, declared Hogan, who thinks that the UK temporary tariff plan is illegal under the WTO rules.
Brexit is considered a disruptive event in the single market, with Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands and Denmark being the most exposed EU Member States in this market in terms of trade of agricultural products. Ireland is to be the most affected country as the meat exports to the UK covers 50% of the domestic production. The impact for the sector is considered to be at €800 million, according to an estimate presented by the Irish farmer’s association.
At the same time, Ukraine poultry producers are seen as a problem for their competitors in the EU who are complaining about the fact that the East European country is taking advantage of the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) to export a huge amount of chicken through the broader duty-free category “other bone-in chicken parts” contained within the DCFTA, while the product that is sold in the market is actually chicken breasts post-processed in their EU subsidiaries.
Hogan announced that the EU is preparing an amendment to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement (DCFTA) with Ukraine in order to limit the import of certain poultry products.
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