France 'not yet ready to ratify' Mercosur trade deal: govt spokeswoman

PARIS: France is "not yet ready to ratify" the blockbuster trade deal sealed by the European Union and the South American bloc Mercosur after 20 years of talks, the government's spokeswoman said Tuesday.
Citing the EU-Canada trade deal which took years to ratify, spokeswoman Sibeth Ndiaye told the BFM news channel: "We will do the same thing with the Mercosur countries... We will look at it in detail and depending on the details we will decide...France is not yet ready to ratify (the deal)."
The accord reached Friday by the EU and four South American countries -- Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay -- is the largest ever struck by the EU.
Both sides have hailed it as an strong signal in favour of free trade and multilateralism at a time of growing protectionism in the US, which is embroiled in a trade war with China and disagreements with the EU.
The agreement has nonetheless raised concerns among European farmers who fear unfair competition from South America, as well as among NGOs concerned about consequences for the climate.
In France, it has drawn criticism from politicians on both the left and right as well as from some members of President Emmanuel Macron's centrist Republic on the Move party.
Ruling party MP Jean-Baptiste Moreau, a farmer, wrote in Le Monde newspaper that he was opposed to importing agricultural products from Brazil which he said had "one of the most harmful farming sectors in the world."