Brazilian Chancellor says EU uses ‘environment as protectionism’

in an article published by the Financial Times this Sunday, November 28th, Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos França criticized the European Union (EU) proposal banning the entry of agricultural products from deforested areas from entering the bloc.

The Brazilian chancellor classified the proposal to oblige companies that sell agricultural products to prove that production was not carried out on degraded or deforested land after 2020 as “commercial protectionism” and “short-sightedness”.

“What I cannot accept is using the environment as a form of trade protectionism. It’s bad for consumers, for trade flows,” said França. “I think there is certain short-sightedness in the European Union”, he added.

Brazil is one of the largest exporters of products that would be barred: meat, soy, palm oil, coffee, cocoa, and wood. The measure bothers the Brazilian government, which accused the European bloc of “protectionism” and “short-sightedness”.

During the United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP26) earlier this month held in Glasgow, Scotland, leaders from more than 100 countries, including Brazil, pledged to halt and reverse deforestation by 2030.

The minister stated that illegal deforestation is treated as a matter for the police because it is connected with other crimes. According to him, there is no desire in Brazil to hide the problem.

“There is no desire for Brazil to hide the problem. When illegal deforestation exists, it is usually connected to other crimes, such as labor violations, tax evasion, and money laundering. We are treating this as a police matter and we are seeing results”, he said.

Source: Canal Rural

To read the full original article, visit the link:

https://www.canalrural.com.br/noticias/chanceler-brasileiro-diz-que-ue-usa-meio-ambiente-como-protecionismo/

Sharing is caring!