For the first time this Tuesday, the European Parliament passed the first resolution establishing some sort of trade sanctions regime against Brazil due to deforestation. The measure is a bitter diplomatic defeat for Jair Bolsonaro’s government.
The proposal calls for European companies to ensure that the supply of meat, soy, cocoa and other products does not occur in such a way as to deforestation. The project still needs to be ratified by each of the 27 EU member states for it to take effect, and negotiations need to begin before the final text becomes the subject of an agreement. But the step in Parliament was considered historic.
In the months before the vote, the Brazilian government mobilized its diplomacy to prevent the establishment of the new commercial structure, and Itamaraty even argued that this was a violation of WTO (World Trade Organization) rules.
The law of the Europeans is to prevent what they call “import deforestation”. In practice, they want to remove barriers to agricultural products grown in recently deforested areas.
In other words: If soybean exported by Brazil is proven to be responsible for deforestation, the EU could increase tariffs on national products.
At Itamaraty, the initiative is considered a response to the country and its exports, although the law does not specifically mention Brazil.
If progressive and environmental groups within the European Parliament have defended the law, one wing insists the measure comes at a difficult time for the global food trade. The war in Ukraine has affected the grain supply, and there have been voices within the European Commission that the trade deal with Mercosur should be reestablished and its now paralyzed implementation accelerated.
Despite this, the new law was passed by a large majority. Only 453 votes were cast, with 57 against and 123 abstentions.
Behind the scenes, Jair Bolsonaro’s government launched an offensive by developing countries to try to prevent Europe from applying protectionist measures. In a letter to the European Commission, Brazil and a dozen developing countries warned that such barriers could violate international agreements.
For Brazil, commercial measures cannot be used to achieve environmental goals and cannot threaten to deepen poverty with no impact on forest protection. The group also warns that the proposal could violate WTO trade agreements.
In the document delivered at the end of July at the behest of the European Commission, developing countries stated that they are aware of the need to defend the environment. But “they regret that the EU has opted for unilateral legislation rather than following established international agreements”.
The Brazilian-led group wants Europe to expand consultations with foreign governments before implementing the barriers. In the document, developing countries also regret that the arguments presented so far by these countries have been ignored.
According to the letter, the process in Europe does not sufficiently take into account the local conditions of each region on the basis of criteria that would be “punitive”. The group warns that the greatest risk is that such measures could lead to “trade disruptions and diplomatic tensions with no benefit to the environment.”
The measures will also damage the reputation of companies and punish producers in developing countries, especially small farmers.
The group also claims it is concerned about the discriminatory nature of the measures. According to them, such barriers can have a “negative” social impact and “economic consequences” for emerging economies.
The letter was signed by the ambassadors of Brazil and Indonesia, as well as Argentina, Colombia, Ghana, Guatemala, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Paraguay, Peru, Honduras, Bolivia, Ecuador and Malaysia.
source: Noticias
