No question of giving up. Sophie Primas intends to continue to fight against the free trade treaty with the Mercosur countries, “unacceptable” for France as it stands, and which worries farmers so much. The Minister responsible for Foreign Trade and French people living abroad took advantage of the meeting of her counterparts in Brussels a few days ago to try to convince other member states, from Poland to Austria, including the Netherlands or Spain, to join the French camp. Objective: obtain enough allies to form a blocking minority and push back the President of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. At the heart of the debate, a supplement to the agreement whose content is kept secret, to the great displeasure of the minister.
L’Express: You have just returned from Brussels, where you wanted to convince several countries of the European Union to rally behind France’s cause, that of opposition to the agreement with Mercosur. Isn’t our country isolated on this issue?
Sophie Primas: This was not the only reason for my trip. It turns out that the last meeting of trade ministers under the Hungarian presidency contained several points on the agenda, the first of which was precisely to discuss the new European trade policy, a major subject in the current geopolitical context. This included the position on Mercosur. Contrary to what we read, France is not isolated on this subject. Several European countries share the same concerns, whether on agricultural issues or environmental subjects. We are, certainly, the most vocal. Other countries are more cautious in their communication, but they face the same fears, the same internal difficulties.
Do you think you can obtain a blocking minority to prevent the vote on this text?
We’ll see when the time comes. What is important today is to show that several European countries do not, like us, accept the text as it stands. We must pull out all the stops, diplomatically and politically. It is with this in mind that I met some of my European colleagues. I also requested an exchange with my German counterpart. We will not necessarily agree on Mercosur, but that is no reason not to seek common ground with our German partner on a major subject for France. It’s not a sure thing, but I’m hopeful. The objective is to create a balance of power with the Commission, because the agreement as it stands today is unacceptable.
Where are the discussions today?
Negotiations are still ongoing and will continue between the Commission and the Mercosur countries. It also concerns an additional component [NDLR : un complément à l’accord portant sur les questions environnementales] the content of which the member countries do not know. We have heard a lot that the Commission would announce the end of the negotiations at the time of the G20 in Brazil, a few days ago, this was not the case. Today we are talking about the deadline for the Mercosur summit, December 3 and 4… This is obviously not acceptable for France, especially since, due to lack of having the texts, we know nothing of the latest negotiated elements , on subjects as important as the Paris Agreement as an essential clause, the dispute resolution mechanism or the strict guarantee of reciprocity in the application of standards, a major point for our farmers.
I will repeat, France is obviously not against free trade agreements. We have to trade and the Mercosur countries are a very important market for us. But not at any cost. This is why we always say that we do not agree with Mercosur “as it stands”.
Not all sectors of activity are in the same boat. By refusing this agreement, are we not sacrificing certain industries which could benefit from it?
I would like to qualify this idea. First, I think that in the new EU trade policy, we must be consistent with all of our European public policies. We cannot have the strongest environmental standards and requirements, which force our industry, our producers – agricultural or not -, our services, as in digital, to be subject to very high standards in environmental, health or societal, and tell them that all imports are authorized, without restrictions of this nature. In the long term, these efforts that we are making will open up opportunities for us. At this stage, they lead to a competitive disadvantage for a good decade.
Furthermore, Mercosur is often presented as the absolute Holy Grail in terms of commercial development. I went to Brazil for the G20: the reality is that European companies, and in particular French, are already very present. Almost all CAC 40 groups operate in the country, some for several decades. Everything does not depend on Mercosur, we are not going to stop trading with these countries if this treaty is not signed.
Note also that these trade agreements are negotiated one by one: Mercosur, Indonesia, New Zealand, etc. There is no cross-sectional analysis of the overall and cumulative effect of these free trade treaties on the sectors. . When we carry out this work, we realize that it is the most fragile sectors, such as agriculture, which suffer. It is always the same people who appear in the loser column, with each free trade agreement. You have to be careful about this. When the Senate voted against Ceta [NDLR : accord économique entre l’Europe et le Canada]it was a signal. Which obviously does not prevent these fragile sectors from having to work on their own competitiveness.
With the election of Donald Trump, are you observing an awareness in Europe of the need to unite to face a trade war?
This was the second point on the agenda in Brussels, and I was quite struck to see, in the speeches, the common desire to redesign European trade policy by making it less naive, more offensive, more strong and more united. Unity is an absolute necessity and that is why I think we need to work together again with our partners and of course first and foremost with Germany.
The vast majority of countries recognize that Donald Trump is in a logic of balance of power, not so far from that of China. Consequently, we must have a strategy vis-à-vis Beijing and Washington based on a European market of 450 million consumers. We are a political and commercial force in the world when we are united.
We also want to encourage dialogue to avoid commercial escalation. This requires identifying the areas in which the United States needs us, the European bloc. Let’s place ourselves in this transactional relationship with Trump. At the same time, let us be determined to use the trade defense weapons that are already at our disposal. And let’s create more if it’s useful. This awareness in Europe, including Germany, is new.
The last EY barometer reflected a deterioration in the perception of France by foreign investors. Is it possible to remedy this?
This barometer actually measures a perception, and not the reality of the installations. Let’s avoid screaming before it hurts. It appears that one in two foreign leaders questioned questions its establishment in France. It is true that the dissolution, the political instability, the time which was necessary to find a Prime Minister and form a government, the uncertainties surrounding the Finance bill… All this was not likely to create the the most favorable climate for business leaders and investors. So I’m not very surprised.
However, I note that there are no project withdrawals. Some companies are delaying, given the economic and political situation. Others are still considering setting up but waiting for the market to be ready, for example in green hydrogen. I fight morning, noon and evening to ensure that the attractiveness of our country continues. I was not always kind, when I was in the Senate, with the policy pursued in previous years, but on this point, we must recognize the success of the President of the Republic. France, more than ever, is an attractive country in Europe. Beyond progress on corporate taxation and reforms on the labor market, businesses see above all that when they arrive on our soil, they are supported by a territorial and national ecosystem. They feel welcome, their procedures go faster than elsewhere. All of this matters in investment decisions.
In this same study, EY notes that competition between Paris and London is relaunched. Do you share this impression?
I met my English counterparts at the G20 in Brasília: they themselves recognize that France is doing better than Great Britain! The European financial center is really in Paris now, it is not about to cross the Channel again.
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