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It sounds like a bad joke: “lumpy skin disease.” But in France, nobody is laughing.
Farmers are clashing with police as their herds get slaughtered to stop a viral outbreak.
And strangely enough, this virus might be what kills one of the biggest trade deals in EU history.
Here is what links the two: French farming unions are fighting the systematic culling of entire herds when just a single case is detected.
At the same time, Brussels is pushing the Mercosur deal, a trade pact that would open the door to South American beef.
Farmers call it “double standards”. Why sacrifice our herds to meet high standards, they ask, only to import cheap meat from Brazil produced with pesticides and antibiotics banned in Europe?
And that anger lands in the European Parliament this week.
Our lawmakers will vote on a “reciprocity clause.” It is basically a “mirror rule”: If you want to sell to Europe, you must meet European standards.
If MEPs vote against it, they risk a revolt in rural Europe.
If they vote for it, South America might walk away as it does not want to import European laws.
In Europe, politics are often local. And right now, locals are angry.
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