Franck Riester calls on senators to choose “farmers rather than ideology” by voting for Ceta

Franck Riester, the Minister Delegate in charge of Foreign Trade, Attractiveness, Francophonie and French people abroad, said he was very favorable to Ceta, this bilateral free trade agreement between France and Canada, “implemented provisionally for six years now”. For the minister, it is about“a good deal” for the French economy and “specifically for agriculture and agri-food”. He hopes that senators “called to vote on the ratification of Ceta on March 21 will choose responsibility”he declared Thursday February 29 on franceinfo from the Agricultural Show.

With supporting figures, Franck Riester defends his point: “The Ceta between the EU and Canada has made it possible in six years to increase French exports to Canada by 33%. If we take agriculture, the surpluses in the trade balance, that is to say the difference between exports and imports, are significantly increasing: up by almost 400 million euros in six years”.

Faced with this observation, the minister therefore calls not to do “ideology on trade agreements” but to watch “whether or not they are beneficial for our sectors”. He therefore hopes that the senators will choose “farmers rather than ideology by supporting this free trade agreement with Canada which is a good agreement”.

The minister opposed to Mercosur

On the other hand, regarding Mercosur, the free trade agreement with South America, Franck Riester believes that “as it is today” it’s a “bad deal” that France will neither “sustain”neither “sign”. A statement in agreement with that of Gabriel Attal, at the end of January in Haute-Garonne, in the face of angry farmers. The Prime Minister had affirmed that France was opposed “very clearly” to “the signing” of the controversial trade agreement between the European Union and the Latin American countries of Mercosur.