The European Commission summarized the week of negotiations as «useful» but left a message. At a press conference, a spokesman for the executive arm of the European Union said that «it should be clear that, without moves by our partners on certain issues, it is difficult to see progress towards the objective in which the European Commission is committed, a balanced business agreementand ambitious with Mercosur. Negotiators have not unlocked important chapters such as exports of European cars to Mercosur and much of the agri-food chapter. In the chapter on the case, it would still be negotiating when the tariff reduction would take effect (because it is assumed that it would be after the date of ratification of the trade agreement) and what percentage of the parts of the car should be locally manufactured .
There is still no agreement on the Mercosur meat quota that may enter the European Union without tariffs (the last European offer reached 99,000 tons per year, insufficient for Mercosur but excessive for countries such as France or Ireland) or on the entry of products dairy productsEuropean to Mercosur
The European Union banned the entry into its ports of poultry meat from Brazil. The embargo decreed by the EU, considered «definitive», affects 20 Brazilian refrigerators, and hits the BRF group, one of the worlds largest food producers. This company, a big chicken exporter, will no longer be able to operate with the markets of European countries. The embargo affects 12 of its units.
Such a decision, which gives cold packs to any rapprochement between Mercosur and Europe, began after an operation of the Brazilian Federal Police detected that «the falsification of health certificates» by local exporters. It was in March, when launching the third stage of the operation «weak meat», baptized «scam». It was discovered that the fraud allowed to hide the presence of Salmonella, both in bovine and poultry products. BRF owns famous brands such as Sadia and Perdigao, Paty, Dánica and Bocatti; and has an extensive international presence, with 150 markets abroad. In Argentina controls Quickfood SA, the manufacturer of Paty. It owns 60% of the Argentine burger market, and absorbs more than 30% of the supply of sausages, through the brands of Vieníssima and Hamond.
Last March, the Commissioner of the Federal, Mauricio Moscardi, indicated the existence of very specific evidence that endorsed the police decision. the fraud of the health reports showed «robust» evidence … They come from fairly consistent email exchanges between the executives of the firm and the quality control technicians of the BRF group, «he said at a press conference at the time.
«These tests show that there was a complex system of counterfeiting within the company itself, which led to circumvent the Ministry of Agriculture inspection.» More specifically, what the researchers noticed is that «modification of the results» was found on the amount of pathogenic www.clarin.com
