France is increasing pressure on the European Commission to address complaints raised by protesting farmers, including about imports from Ukraine and a trade deal being negotiated with Latin American countries.
As farmers in France continue to blockade highways and disrupt food supplies, President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday pledged to defend their interests “not by opposing or pointing to Europe as the culprit” but by asking for EU policy reforms. “At the European level, we must have a policy that is consistent with the food sovereignty that we defend.”
Macron reiterated France’s long-standing concerns that a free trade deal with the Mercosur group of countries — Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay — would lead to imports that do not respect European standards, such as on antibiotic usage on chicken farms. “We ask that the agreement as it is in place not be signed,” he said.