Sugar Producers' Association: protective clause in the EU–Mercosur agreement does not fulfill its role

The Polish Sugar Producers' Association (ZPC) expresses firm opposition to the current form of the so-called safeguard clause in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement. In its assessment, this mechanism does not reflect the realities of the functioning of the EU sugar market and does not provide its effective protection. The ZPC recalls that the safeguard clause in the EU-Mercosur trade agreement was supposed to serve as a so-called safety brake, protecting EU producers from a sudden increase in cheap imports that could disrupt the market. However, in practice, according to the Association, this mechanism does not work for the sugar sector because it was constructed in a way that is inconsistent with the actual conditions of the functioning of this market. As we have already written, according to the European Commission's proposal, the safeguard clause included in the EU-Mercosur agreement is to be activated when: "The criteria contained in the safeguard clause within the EU-Mercosur ...