In an effort to reduce its dependence on the United States, the European Commission is preparing a comprehensive trade agreement with Australia. According to the weekly Politico, negotiationshave been ongoingsince 2018, with Canberra refusing to back down on its export requirements.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is scheduled to travel to the Australian capital in the middle of the month, preceded by a visit to Brussels on Thursday by Trade Minister Don Farrell. The European negotiators are European Commissioners for Trade and Agriculture Maroš Šefčovič and Christoph Hansen.
According to the Polish right-wing daily Do Rzeczy, negotiations havestalleddue to disagreement over beef exports. In October 2023, the Australian minister withdrew from the talks, which, according to Politico, he did"for the second time in four months."
"Australia is a major producer and one of the world's largest exporters of this meat. Its original expectations for export quotas were 80,000 tons, then reduced to 40,000 tons, and now 24,000 tons are being considered, which is still an unacceptable proposal from the perspective of European farmers," said Jacek Zarzecki, vice-chairman of the Polish Platform for Sustainable Beef, to a conservative website.
"These quotas should be assessed through the prism of all other trade agreements, including the agreement with Mercosur. This would mean that additional volumes of beef would enter the European market with reduced tariffs, probably after a zero period," he said.
The Polish meat industry is the fifth largest meat producer in the EU and the second largest exporter after Ireland, Do Rzeczy noted. However, under the planned agreement with Australia, competition from the south could saturate the meat market and reduce the income of European farmers, who also protested against the recently approved agreement with Mercosur.
The agreement with South American countries also anticipates a massive influx of beef, so European primary producers welcomed the European Parliament's move to recommend the agreement and refer it to the EU Court of Justice for review.
"Currently, beef production in Europe is declining year on year and the number of farms is decreasing. If domestic beef disappears, it will be replaced by larger imports. The biggest threat to us at the moment is the lack of legal certainty, because we are doing well on the market," Zarzecki noted.
US President Donald Trump is reportedly facing similar protests over an agreement with Argentina, under which Washington is to quadruple its imports of Argentine beef.
In addition to meat, sugar, rice, and milk are also hot-button commodities, but Politico noted that quotas for these agricultural products are not as contentious. The Australian National Farmers Federation said this week that it is still seeking "significantly increased access" in all of these areas.
Another special chapter of the agreement under discussion concerns protected designations – for sparkling wine to be labeled "champagne," it must come from the Champagne region of France, Politico noted. However, according to the weekly, Canberra may push to retain some names, at least during a transitional period.
Opponents of the agreements with Mercosur and Indiahave renewedtheir rhetoric that the Commission is being hypocritical – on the one hand, von der Leyen announced at the beginning of her second term that she would protect local producers, but on the other hand, she intends to import food with a lower level of protection from halfway around the world.
In addition to threatening the climate by importing food by tanker, opponents also fear that these foods will not meet quality criteria similar to those in Europe. Mercosur countries are likely to want to maximize their profits by clearing large areas of protected Amazonian forests and resorting to the use of harsh pesticides.
According to a study by Earth.org, Brazilcleared5,800 square kilometers of Amazon rainforest per year between 2016 and 2020 alone.
So while the EU protects its nature and commits to green transformation, South America will bear the brunt of the opposite measures, from where Brussels will be able to import massive amounts of food. Australia is not so submissive to such outsourcing, as a result of which it sets its own conditions and has repeatedly walked away from the negotiating table.
Looking at the world map, it is also clear that the EU is trying to become the third superpower alongside the US and China. Russia has recently become increasingly involved in Beijing's orbit (although it could be said that their relationship is mutual, or that China is in Russia's orbit), while the US is consolidating its influence over the Middle East and parts of South America.
However, European efforts continue to emphasize what John Mearsheimercalledthe end of theunipolar momentof the United States. This lasted from the end of the Cold War in 1991 until 2017, when China achievedworld power status. The end of American world domination, on which Brussels also relied, has thus awakened fears and a sense of uncertainty on the old continent, as a result of which it is seeking alternative paths to its own superpower status.