EU and Mercosur agree on free trade
July 10th, 2019A left-wing columnist fears that the free trade deal between the EU and Latin American countries will harm the interests of agricultural producers in Europe and Hungary.
Népszava’s Miklós Hargitai accuses the government of selling out Hungarian agricultural interests by supporting the EU’s free trade agreement with South American countries. The left-wing commentator points out that the free trade agreement will open up European markets to cheap Latin American agricultural goods. Hargitai goes on to note that in addition to tough competition, imports from Latin America may also entail health hazards due to higher hormone, GMO and pesticide levels. He acknowledges that free trade with Latin America may secure new markets for European automobile factories, but he fears that the whole car industry will soon change completely, and therefore the free trade deal will not be beneficial for either the EU as a whole or Hungary in particular. He also wonders how support for the free trade deal squares with the government’s economic ‘freedom fight’.
Tags: agriculutre, EU, trade