Ahead of the final trilogue negotiations, Farm Europe and Eat Europe, with the farmers organisations representing the European rice producers from the main EU producing countries (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, France and Romania) send a clear message to EU institutions to reject any attempt to weaken the concept of automatic safeguard clause provided for under Article 29 of the Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) Regulation. Automatic, swift and effective safeguard mechanisms should be the norm in any trade agreement concluded by the EU, to ensure the competitiveness of European farmers and a level playing field that upholds economic, environmental and social sustainability standards. This is the only effective tool to protect rice production.
The proposal currently circulating – and unacceptable for the rice producers – foresees an automatic trigger for the launch of a surveillance mechanism, not the safeguard clause. Moreover, it includes criteria that significantly delay the process and risk providing grounds to avoid suspending preferential tariffs.
On the contrary, we call for the reference percentage to be set at 6%, if the proposal is to change the calculation method, using total EU imports as the denominator instead of imports from only GSP Countries. Moreover, we ask tight timelines for surveillance and verification, with the percentage as the sole parameter to be assessed and the deletion of paragraph 2 of Article 31.
There are only two alternatives that the sector considers viable in case these proposals should not be put forward: referring back to the European Parliament’s initial negotiating mandate or halt the trilogue.
EU rice producers cannot keep dealing with imports increases like in last years: in the most recent marketing year, European farmers have faced a veritable invasion of zero-duty Asian rice, with imports from Cambodia and Myanmar already showing a +13% increase by 1 June 2025 compared to the same period of the previous year, and a 40% surge in Indica rice alone.
Beyond automatic safeguard mechanisms, the application of the principle of reciprocity must be fully implemented in all agreements, aiming at protecting not only the supply chain but also European consumers, from products that fall far below EU environmental, social and quality standards.
O artigo foi publicado originalmente em Farm Europe.
