2026-01-29

16. Deputy Darren O'Rourke asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the assessment which has taken place of the potential impact of the Mercosur trade deal on the Irish beef industry; the measures he will take to mitigate this; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5369/26]

What assessment has taken place of the potential impact of the Mercosur trade deal on the Irish beef industry? What measures will he will take to mitigate this?

In 2019, the then Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment commissioned an independent economic and sustainability impact assessment, ESIA, which both my Department and Teagasc fed into. The ESIA, which was published in July 2021, estimated that beef imports from the Mercosur countries into the EU would increase by approximately 53,000 tonnes. The study noted that, assuming the additional imports were in high-end cuts only, and depending on other factors, producer returns in Ireland could fall by around 2%, due to the increase in imports to the EU. This would translate to a maximum reduction in the value of Irish beef output of between €44 million and €55 million based on export figures available at the time of publication. On sanitary and phytosanitary, SPS, standards, the study notes that the implementation of the agreement does not in any way lower EU standards regarding market access for Mercosur, including on beef. The EU's SPS standards are amongst the highest in the world and are non-negotiable. The Government is firmly of the view that these standards must continue to be rigorously upheld for the benefit of European consumers. This is a matter I raised directly with the Commissioner, Mr. Várhelyi, following the recent recall of Brazilian beef and the need for Europe to increase the number of inspections, both in third countries and at our border control posts, which was agreed to by Europe before Christmas. We have Mercosur beef coming in to Europe and have had 200,000 tonnes at a very high tariff rate. The Mercosur agreement is about what the tariff is for it. It is not that it does not come in. In some ways, the food safety and SPS standards are non-negotiable. We do not allow hormone-fed beef. We have very strict control on our antibiotic use here among our farmers and consumers are reassured of that, and we expect any produce that comes in from anywhere outside of Europe to meet those same standards. The issue for farmers has been on the environmental standards, which I can talk to later. The Government has been very clear about Ireland's concerns in relation to the EU-Mercosur agreement over a number of years, particularly its potential impact on the beef sector, the strength of its climate and sustainability commitments, and the food safety and environmental standards in Mercosur countries, due to which we had to have safeguards, irrespective of what tariff rate the product comes in at.

The impact is tens of millions of euros and a very significant question mark over food safety, standards, quality and the environmental impact. “Non-negotiable” is an easy thing to say but we know in practical terms, whether in food safety or technology, that there are many examples and huge potential for this to be the thin end of the wedge. That is the reality of this. It is a concern, and all we have to do is look at the Irish Farmers’ Journal to see this. All of the incentives are there, of course. Regarding the environmental concerns, the Minister said “non-negotiable” but what measures are proposed? It is my firm opinion that there are no cast-iron guarantees that the standards that currently apply to European countries, including Ireland, will apply to these products coming in.

I remind the Deputy that the Government opposed the Mercosur trade deal, for very good reasons, which I have articulated. In line with our programme for Government commitment to work with like-minded countries that oppose the deal, I very much took a twin-track approach over the course of the last year. Every month that I attend the Agri-Fish Council in Brussels, trade is on the agenda. I have raised our concerns on the sensitivity of the impact of the Mercosur trade deal on our beef sector in particular. There is an economic impact of somewhere between €44 million and €55 million a year on a beef sector worth over €3 billion. On the environmental element, our farmers have been on a journey and a trajectory of increased ambition around environmental sustainability, while producing top-quality food in line with the regulations set down by Europe, which farmers have signed up to. That has increased the sustainable credentials of their food but it has impacted their margins, and it has definitely had an impact on the cost of doing business. We then chase the higher markets to get better value for that product. That is why we do not compete with Brazilian beef abroad. We are in the higher value markets, where we get a better return. We are not in the commodity market in that space. Therefore, those environmental standards have stood to us well. However, allowing other beef into Europe to displace us in this market is inherently unfair to our farmers.

The twin-track approach the Government took in relation to Mercosur was that it was for it and against it at the same time. If we look at the Government’s actions and efforts to oppose it, they fell far short of what was required, and they certainly were not successful in delivering what Irish farmers needed. We look at how Government MEPs voted on the referral to the European Court of Justice. They literally did both things, yes and no, and spoke with both sides of their mouths. There are real concerns as to the potential for the European Commission to move to provisionally apply the Mercosur trade agreement, which would be completely unacceptable, given the vote by the MEPs and the referral to the ECJ. What efforts will the Government make to ensure the Mercosur trade deal is not provisionally implemented?

Irrespective of what way the Deputy tries to spin this, the record shows very clearly what way Ireland voted. If he talks to anybody in Europe who is in favour of the deal, they are very clear that the Irish Government opposed it. Irrespective of what he tries to tell people, the facts are the facts, and they are there. The Deputy can put down questions to the Minister for trade on all elements of trade deals. I do not have that competence but I have the role, as Minister for agriculture, to defend my sector and talk about its important role. The point I was making was that our beef farmers meet all of that extra conditionality around environmental standards, which means they have been able to chase a higher return for their produce. It was the right thing to do. However, giving a preferential tariff rate to 99,000 tonnes of beef that comes in from outside third countries, and does not satisfy those same environmental standards, would cut to the hearts of farmers, who have continuously raised these issues. We know that beef already comes in due to the integrated nature of the global supply chain but it comes in at a high tariff rate. It was the giving of the preferential tariff rate for beef that is of a lower environmental standard that was unacceptable to me.