We should work with trade partners that don't 'blackmail' us: EU agriculture commissioner

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Source: France 24

Asked whether agriculture will be dragged into the current trade dispute between the Trump administration and the EU, Hansen says: "This cannot be excluded, so we have to prepare for it. We have the experience from the first Trump administration when there were tariffs on our agricultural products. And in our Vision (for Agriculture and Food) we clearly refer to a unity safety net, meaning that we can strike back and react to coercion and blackmail, as it happened before. We are strong when we are united, but when this unity is challenged we are very weak, and this something we definitely need to address."

The commissioner elaborates: "We need to get into new markets. In June we have a high-level mission to Japan with our agriculture and food-producing sector in order to get them into those markets, so that they have alternatives and are not being blackmailed, as happened before."

On that issue of alternative markets to the US, Hansen underlines the importance of the Mercosur agreement with Latin American countries. Negotiations on the deal have concluded, but it has not yet been finally adopted. "We have a very positive export balance in trade," Hansen explains. "Our milk and cheese sectors would benefit from such an agreement. Wines and spirits are currently under pressure in the European Union, and they would benefit from it. The whole [agricultural] sector would benefit from it. What is important is that we give fair conditions to our farmers."

Read more: https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows/talking-europe/20250228-we-should-work-with-trade-partners-that-don-t-blackmail-us-eu-agriculture-commissioner