Background trade agreement
'Farm to Fork' hits US in the wrong way
During a trade meeting between EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski and US Agriculture Secretary Sony Perdue, the latter indicated that it is important that the trade agreement should allow free trade for agricultural products from America to Europe. He thinks the European 'Farm to Fork strategy' is nonsense.
The US government has repeatedly stated that trade in agricultural products should be part of the negotiations on the trade agreement between the EU and the US. European councilors do not like this and would rather see the talks focus on industrial products.
Europe is the second largest import partner of the US. In total, the US imports $1 billion worth of European products, while Europe only imports $24.4 billion worth of American products. The US government now wants Europe to import more products from the US, in order to fine-tune the trade surplus. Something that President Donald Trump also insists on in deals with other countries.
Food safety comes first
Food safety comes first in Europe. To monitor this, the EU does not want to import 'hormone meat' and genetically modified vegetables from the US. These products do not meet the high food safety requirements of Europe. According to the US government this is nonsense, the products are simply safe. They believe that Europe should leave the choice to its citizens as to whether or not they want to buy these products.
Perdue also shoots down the 'Farm to Fork' strategy of his European colleagues. According to the minister, it is unnecessary for the products to be banned because we in Europe want to keep everything as close to home as possible. Despite the opposition, Wojciechowski says that he thinks this is an important strategy, especially now that the corona virus has hit the entire food chain. According to the EU minister, the corona pandemic shows that it is important to keep your food as close to home as possible, otherwise it would not be possible to bring in necessary products that we import overseas.
Farm to Fork endangers production
According to the Perdue, Europe is forgetting the 'Farm' in Farm to Fork. According to him, this approach jeopardizes production and suppresses innovation. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) innovation agenda announces that the US aims to increase its agricultural production by 40%, while cutting its environmental impact in half by 2050.
Perdue would rather see Europe go that way too. But while Europe wants to reduce the use of fertilizers, antibiotics and crop protection products with its Farm-to-Frok strategy, American agriculture relies on genetic engineering (GMO) and large-scale and mechanized production, supported by fertilizers and crop protection products.
Jorine Cosse
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