SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE December 11 (EUROPA PRESS) –
The Cabildo of Tenerife has expressed its “concern” regarding the trade agreement between the EU and Mercosur and the “impact” it will have on the primary sector within the islands. Consequently, it has appealed to the Government of Spain and the EU to apply Exceptions for the Outermost Regions (ORP).
During a press conference to discuss the resolutions of the Government Council, both the president, Rosa Dávila, and the vice president, Lope Afonso, conveyed that island productions “cannot compete” under such a framework.
Dávila highlighted the importance of the banana subsector, which accounts for 48% of the total exports from the archipelago, and noted that it would struggle to thrive in a market where tariffs for products from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Uruguay and Paraguay are almost entirely waived.
Afonso echoed similar sentiments, emphasising the “uncertainty” stemming from an “opaque” agreement that poses significant challenges for the agricultural productivity of the archipelago, given that they will confront an “extensive agriculture” model prevalent in South America.
He also indicated that the agreement lacks “mirror clauses” for products sourced from South America, placing Canarian farmers at a “disadvantage” and in “extremely burdensome” conditions, particularly affecting subsectors like wine, beef, and millet.
This has led him to hope that both the EU and the Spanish Government will “reconsider” an agreement that “calls into question” an island primary sector already in a “damaged state.”
