Joint Statement of the EU Social Partners of the leather industry on EU-Mercosur FTA negotiations
COTANCE and industriAll-Europe reviewed the state of play of EU-Mercosur negotiations in their Social Dialogue meeting of 27 February 2018. They understand that the trade partners are in the final phase before a deal is eventually concluded, but also that there is still no agreement on the promised dismantling of export restrictions and duties applied by Mercosur on hides, skins and intermediate tanned leather (HS 4101, 4102, 4103 and 4104).
The EU Social Partners of the European Leather Industry call on the European Commission to ensure a trade deal for the leather sector that consecrates full reciprocity in a symmetrical process, both in the access to markets and in the access to raw materials, as well as more generally a social chapter that promotes high social standards across the free trade area.
They insist notably on the vital need to put an end to the protectionist trade barriers on tanner’s raw materials applied by Mercosur that risk at term pushing out of business a profitable EU tanning industry that creates wealth and employment in the EU and that is today a model for the World in terms of social accountability and environmental performance.
Brussels, 27 February 2018
Gustavo Gonzalez-Quijano, Secretary General, COTANCE
Sylvain Lefebvre, Deputy General Secretary,industriAll-Europe