Lack of reciprocity in preliminary EU-US trade deal has European fresh produce industry up in arms
Despite their joint public announcement of an EU-US trade deal, the US and the European Union are still finalizing the details of the final document.
In an effort to protect the continent's automotive industry, the European Commission has removed a significant portion of the tariffs on US agricultural and industrial imports, but further concessions made by the European agency have elicited concern and even outrage.
Through a press release, Spain's Interprofessional Association of Lemon and Grapefruit said they're not concerned by the strategy, as they don't expect an increase in volumes as a result. With only a 6.4 percent market share, US lemons are not a significant player in the market, they explain. Meanwhile, Florida grapefruit faces a range of challenges (including black spot and greening diseases), and with an even smaller market share of 2.4 percent, the fruit presents no threat to local production.
Unfortunately, the organization notes, the European Commission's elimination of the reciprocity requirement is likely to have an impact on the industry. They claim "the EU is giving up on defending European citrus exports to the US," which have been subject to American phytosanitary restrictions for years.
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Ailimpo is accusing the EU of giving up on working towards reciprocity, claiming "no commitment has been made by the US to reverse its protectionist sanitary and phytosanitary standards." Fresh US products are free to enter the EU market, unaffected by any phytosanitary barriers or protocols. EU products, on the other hand, face multiple hurdles upon entry into the US.
Spanish Verna lemons, for example, are subject to what Ailimpo calls a non-tariff barrier. The US imposes a strict cold treatment requirement for the fruit's import, the organization says, and little terrain has been gained in the industry's more than 15-year negotiations with the USDA to lift this phytosanitary protocol.
"Now, with Trump's second term, supported by the EU's new change of position, we unfortunately have to put an end to all this work without the European Commission showing any support for the sector," states the press release.
A "one-sided and fully asymmetric agreement"
Ailimpo was not the only organization sounding the alarm regarding the EU-US trade agreement. Through its own press release, Freshfel Europe, the European Fresh Produce Association, also accused the European Commission of abandoning the protection of reciprocity clauses, expressing "deep concerns and perplexity" over the agreement.
Calling the outreach "appalling," the association slammed the negotiations between the nation block and the United States, saying they breach "basic principles of good governance, set aside commitment to transparency," and "failed to have been subject to a credible impact assessment."
Freshfel Europe also warned about the potential to further deepen the already existing trade deficit between the parties. They also condemned the use of the European fresh fruit and vegetables industry as a bargaining chip for achieving other objectives "once again."
“Under the proposed deal, imports of US fruit and vegetables into the EU are fully liberalized, removing with immediate effect existing tariffs to a full duty exemption," explained Philippe Binard, General Delegate of Freshfel Europe. "On the contrary, EU exporters face a significant rise in tariffs to 15 percent when accessing the US market.”
The organization states that this asymmetry in exporting conditions gives US producers a competitive advantage, while severely undermining the competitiveness of EU fresh produce entering the American market. This new position would have non-negligible collateral effects for the EU, with financial consequences estimated at € 12 billion in revenue loss.
“This will add more pressure on EU budget, already facing multiple cuts, further harming European businesses and EU citizens," said Binard.
The final and official details of the new EU-US trade agreement are still unknown. At the time of writing, there is also no date set for the announcement of the final document by representatives of the European Commission or the US trade.
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