Transatlantic partnership
Paris, June 15, 2013
The European trade ministers, meeting in Luxembourg on 14 June, formally decided to grant the European Commission a mandate to negotiate a free trade agreement with the United States.
While France won her case on one essential point, the cultural exception, Stéphane Le Foll and Nicole Bricq ensured that guarantees for our red lines on agriculture and food were included in the negotiation mandate.
As regards the “collective preferences” (GMOs, growth promoters, chemical decontamination of meat and animal cloning), France ensured that the European acquis were protected and national legislation not called into question.
Regarding protected geographical indications, France backed a high level of stringency to ensure the agreement led to effective protection and dealt with cases of usurpation, particularly in the area of wines and spirits.
Moreover, throughout the negotiations Stéphane Le Foll will remain vigilant regarding tariffs on agricultural produce, in order not to jeopardize a large number of European industries, particularly in view of major differences in production conditions on either side of the Atlantic./.
