T&G claims victory over poultry imports
The European Commission (EC) has dropped plans to introduce a reduced rate import tariff quota for 250,000t of poultry from South America, following intense lobbying from trade unions.
Chris Kaufman, national secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union (T&GWU), said: “The proposals posed a direct threat to 45,000 UK employees. The EC was clueless. Going ahead would destroy the poultry industry and have a knock-on effect on the cereal industry.”
The proposed tariff reductions were to be part of the European Union’s free trade agreement with South America’s Mercosur countries (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay) and would have meant reducing poultry tariffs by 90%, claimed Kaufman.
Separately, the EC has appealed against the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ruling to reverse a change of customs designation for chicken cut imports.
Concerns were raised after Thailand and Brazil began adding salt to frozen chicken exports so that the meat would be taxed as ‘frozen salted’ at a duty rate of 15.4% instead of ‘frozen’ at a rate of 58.9%.
The loophole was closed in June 2002 when the European Commission reclassified lightly salted poultry as ‘frozen’ product. It argued that the product was frozen before being salted and did not have the preservation properties of salted meat.
“The invalid interpretation of tariffs and the deliberate adulteration of chicken is ludicrous,” said Peter Bradnock, chief executive of the British Poultry Council.
“It is absolutely scandalous that the WTO is allowing Brazilian and Thai exporters to add what amounts to tonnes and tonnes of salt to chicken at the same time the Food Standards Agency and health experts are saying we must reduce salt.”
