Germany’s Farm Minister, Horst Seehofer said, the countries that are interested in doing business with Germany should adopt stipulated higher environmental and health standards for their food products. He further added these standards are not aimed at imposing protectionism to the EU markets, but rather it is to employ proven EU standards across the world. The new norms should be agreed by the developed and emerging economies of the world including the US, China and India, apart from Latin American countries.
Michel Barnier, Farm Minister of France too raised a similar point last month to modify the present trade policies to check free trade liberalism in a rising global food prices scenario. Both ministers, though dismiss theory of protectionism, it is obvious that they are gearing up to ward off any further damage inflicted on their countries due to global economic slow down. However, Seehofer did not forget to add that the EU needed more market liberalization, but also it should be at fair conditions.
Germany as well as France will lock horns with the UK in the coming days regarding the future of Europe’s Common Agricultural Policy, which is alleged to have aggravated the world food crisis. Alistair Darling, the UK Chancellor, recently said that he would request fellow EU finance ministers to support in revoking the agricultural policy, that supposedly have cost the European consumers billions of pounds extra on food bills. Seehofer dismissed such assertions as baseless and claimed the developing countries should employ modern technology to increase agricultural output to avoid depending on others for their food needs. Seehofer also said that Germany would stall any plans of lifting the ban of poultry imports from the US, as agreed by the recently concluded talks between the US and the EU officials, unless the standards are met.
Toboc Trade News