do we Need to put an end to free trade “generalized”? Should governments provide a more global trade? As many of the questions that recur every election, or nearly so, for the past 30 years. The debate between the advocates of free trade – which is to promote the development of world trade by removing the maximum tariff barriers, and the advocates of protectionism, arises in France, but also everywhere in the world. The trade war between China and the United States is the artwork.
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beyond the purely economic, the issues related to this theme are major. Include one: the preservation of the environment. As global warming is increasing, can we continue to consume products that sometimes come from the other side of the world and are thousands of kilometres by plane or boat? On the occasion of the european elections, which take place on Sunday, may 26, Le Figaro has worked on the programs of the different candidates to identify their positions on free trade.
➔ THEY ARE RATHER FAVOURABLE to THE PRINCIPLE OF FREE TRADE (but wish to regulate)• The Republicans (LR)
In an interview at the end of march in Marianne in partnership with Polony.tv , the head of the list LR for the european, François-Xavier Bellamy, said: “I believe in free trade. Free trade can serve the interests of those who produce in France. For example, French agriculture is today exporting”. François-Xavier Bellamy believed, however, that “we need borders to be able to control our destiny.” The leader LR explained as well as he “would not have signed the AACC because it threatened the beef sector”, and that “any free trade agreement should be signed only if it is favorable for our producers”. A position that is so nuanced.
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Concretely, François-Xavier Bellamy wants that free trade is framed by various safeguards. The program of the Republicans, for example, offers to impose a “joint competence” to “make mandatory the consultation of the national parliaments” to all the trade agreements proposed or under negotiation by the european Commission. The free-trade agreements would also be “evaluated every five years with a clause of revoyure” if they are “adverse to the Union or to some of its member States”. In the Face of foreign products, the Republicans want to “put in place a double preference”, european and French, for all tenders within the european Union “, in assuming to give priority to our businesses and our jobs”. Last “protection”: the desire to establish an “ecological barrier”, thanks to the implementation of “customs duties, anti-pollution, on products imported from countries that do not meet our environmental standards or social”.
• The Union of democrats and independents (UDI)
The centrist party, which the head of the list is Jean-Christophe Lagarde, wishes that there be “no deals, trade with countries that do not comply with the Paris agreement (relating to the climate, editor’s note), without, however, fundamentally question the principle of free trade. “We propose the systematic inclusion of measures of special safeguard’ in the trade agreements that the EU signs with other countries, in order to amend the terms and conditions of the agreement in the event of non-compliance with the objectives of the agreement of Paris for the climate,” says the program of the IDU. The party of Jean-Christophe Lagarde also proposes to “make public and transparent negotiations of free trade agreements” and an “equity production” in the framework of bilateral agreements on four issues: climate, environmental, sanitary and social. Resolutely pro-european party, the UDI sees Europe as an area of free trade and argues for a harmonisation of the rules on competition in intra-european.
• The Republic on (LREM)
In its programme, The Republic in market (LREM) – which supports the work of Emmanuel Macron, and which has the top of the list Nathalie Loiseau, expresses his desire to defend “our interests and our values in the globalisation”. The presidential party, explains that he “refuses to sign free trade agreements with countries that do not respect the Paris agreement on climate”. A few days ago, Nathalie Loiseau said: “I don ratifierai no free trade agreement with the United States”. The Republic in march also wants to “tax the carbon of imported products in Europe and apply more strictly the principle “polluter pays” within the EU”. The party does not question the very principle of free trade, but wants to frame it. “What I want is that we stop the naivety when we pass free-trade agreements, when negotiating with the rest of the world”, emphasised Nathalie Loiseau at the beginning of April. To recall, during the presidential campaign of 2017, Emmanuel Macron was the only candidate in favour of the free trade agreement between the european Union and Canada (Ceta). More recently, the minister of Agriculture has desired that the free trade agreement between the EU and Japan, which entered into force in February, to go “faster”.
➔ THEY ARE HOSTILE TO FREE TRADE (and want to renegotiate the european treaties).
• The national Rally (RN)
In its european programme, the national Rally (RN) criticizes the ‘free market deregulated”. The latter is accused of being “anti-ecological” and of having “killed our industry,” because of the unfair competition. “We must do away with the without frontiérisme business of manufacturing products in Asia, sell in Europe and reprocess the waste in Africa”, writes the national Gathering. Before continuing: “instead, We must re-establish customs protection (taxes, quotas, and quotas) on the borders of Europe, as do all the major economies (the United States, India, Japan)”. Guest at the end of April on CNews , Jordan Bardella – candidate RN to the european, asked: “All the great powers make the choice of protectionism. Why would one of the turkeys of the farce of globalization?”.
The RN denounces “the multiplication of free trade agreements of the european Union with all countries of the planet”, including the free trade agreement with Canada (CETA) or the agreement under negotiation with Mercosur countries (south american market), which “will place our productions agricultural French in the face of unfair competition of products from countries that (…) do not meet our health standards, social and environmental”. To move the lines, the party of Marine Le Pen boasts about “fair trade”, in opposition to free trade, aimed at “reintegrating the social and environmental requirements in international trade”. The RN also proposes to “promote the relocation of human activities and focus on the short circuits, the localism, that is to say, the production, consumption and reprocessing in a geographic area as reasonably possible”. With the objective of reindustrialization of the territories. Another suggestion: overtax the “imports global anti-ecological”. To enforce its program, the RN wants to renegotiate the european treaties.
• France insubordinate (BIA)
France insubordinate is also very critical of free trade, which it wishes to put an end. “The EU is imposing free trade and against the peoples and nature”, indicates the movement in his program. Before specifying: “in the Face of free trade, plan the relocation of ecological protectionism in solidarity”. The concept of “protectionism ” solidarity” had already been used by Jean-Luc Mélenchon during the presidential campaign of 2017. This is, in particular, to increase the customs duties for the countries that do not respect labour standards (child labour, lack of trade union rights) or environmental.
BIA opposes free-trade agreements, refuses “any new free trade agreement (eu, Mercosur, Japan, United States, Australia, New Zealand) and wants to “fight the ratification of the EU-Canada agreement (CETA) by France to block this treaty.” Invited the end of April on Europe 1 , Manon Aubry, the head of the list BIA in the european elections, considered that the european treaties were “problematic” because they “don’t do protectionism in solidarity by placing free trade in the DNA of the treaties”. The movement wants to re-negotiate “collectively these treaties to have the new place the protectionism solidarity, social and fiscal harmonisation, the ecological transition” in the center. If the renegotiation fails, the BIA will carry out its “plan B” coming out of the european treaties.
• Standing France (DLF)
In its programme for the european, the party of Standing the France – including the head of the list is Nicolas Dupont-Aignan -, boasts a “Europe of Nations” with a “customs protection against unfair competition”. Standing in France, for example, offers of “conditioning access to the european common market with a harmonization of social, fiscal, and respect for the loyalty of trade between european partners for the jobs of the French stop it from Poland or Romania”.
Nicolas Dupont-Aignan wants to also put an end to “free trade treaties”, he considers “unfair”. Referring to globalization as “inhuman”, he explained at the beginning of April on France 2 “that is not defending the ecology, if one does not cause this free-generalized exchange, which promotes the pollution outside our borders”. “It is necessary to renegotiate the european treaties, and to regain our right of veto on these free trade agreements,” he added.
• Europe Ecology The Greens (EELV)
The ecologist party, including the head of the list is Yannick Jadot, offers in his program to “do away with the free trade agreements CETA (Canada), JEFTA (Japan), APE (Africa and Caribbean), [and] MERCOSUR (Latin America)”. EELV also wants to implement a “carbon tax at the borders of Europe to a green protectionism”. This taxation would be based in particular on indicators of socio-environmental: “the taxation of pollution (carbon, pesticides, endocrine disruptors, diesel) and the taxation of the social, so as to fill the gap of price, terms and conditions of work between a production carried out in and outside of our borders”. The list conducted by Yannick Jadot request to renegotiate the european treaties.
• The communist Party (PCF)
Led by Ian Brossat, of the communist Party of assimilates in its programme of free trade to one of the causes of the “chaos of the world”. “France continues to negotiate all the days of the free-trade agreements. It is the principle of free trade, which is contrary to the defence of the climate. It would be necessary to renounce such treaties with all countries and not only with the countries who refuse to sign the agreements on the climate”, explained the end of April Ian Brossat in the media The wind rises . At the beginning of April, to France 2 , the candidate communist asked about the free trade treaties: “there is Nothing to read, we tour the world. We never stop, we will have to say stop (…) Our destiny of French, is-what it is to consume the sheep’s made in New Zealand?”. The communist Party wants also to renegotiate the european treaties.
• The socialist Party (PS)-public Square
With the top of the list Raphaël Glucksmann, the movement to Place public offers in his program of “breaking with the dogmas of free trade, and austerity” and says that “free trade is not a goal in itself (…) it only makes sense that if it is a fair exchange.” “The respect for fundamental rights and international standards relating to human rights, the environment and workers’ rights, must prevail over trade treaties,” he wrote. The movement of the left proposes to introduce a “protectionism” social-ecological” based on several measures. Among them, the introduction of a “carbon tax at the borders of the Union to support our businesses against the competition of countries that do not comply with the Paris agreement”. The list of the movement, “Envy of Europe”, also wants to suspend “all trading in and all ratifications of agreements of trade and investment, including the AACC, as have not been democratically defined the criteria of environmental, social, fiscal, and human rights are ambitious to challenge the trade policy at the service of the common good”. The movement advocates the renegotiation of the free trade treaties.
Generation.s: Benoît Hamon
The movement Generation.s – who as the head of the list Benoît Hamon -, proposes to stop the free trade treaties and put in place environmental and social standards beyond the Union’s borders to trade. “The trade treaties of today are a non-sense fiscal, social and environmental (…) We refuse to provide that products imported into Europe will promote the dumping social, and destroying the environment in the name of the lower cost,” wrote the movement in his program. Before continuing: “We will put in place the financial measures corrective: fit carbon at the borders and social clauses that are protective. In principle, any agreement involving setbacks in key areas such as agriculture, environment, health, base metals, and the digital data will be rejected”. Generation.s wants to re-establish the european treaties by assemblies of citizens.
➔ THEY ARE HOSTILE TO FREE TRADE (and want to leave the european Union)
• The Patriots
Chaired by Florian Philippot, the party of “Patriots” denounced “the free exchange full” and “unfair competition”. “The european Union is the temple of the free exchange and multiplies the agreements that are destructive to the planet as for the French economy. We will not fail against these treaties,” according to the program of the Patriots. “With the free trade agreements, on imports of products not necessarily healthy, and the transportation creates pollution. It is catastrophic,” explained Florian Philippot on France 2 , at the beginning of April. The party Florian Philippot wants to “relocate” and implement a “protectionism smart” at the national level. This aspiration goes on, according to The Patriots, by an exit from the european Union (the “Frexit”). This choice differentiates The Patriots of the other parties opposed to free trade.
➔ not classifiable
• popular Union républicaine (UPR)
The president of the Union populaire républicaine (UPR), François Asselineau, is a strong supporter of the “Frexit”, that is to say, the output of France, the european Union and the euro. “We can’t change Europe, since it is necessary the unanimity of the member States. It is thus necessary to get out of it”, said he in march in Figaro , in the show The Talk. In economic terms, François Asselineau asserts a position that is a hybrid combining the presence of the State and freedom of individuals.
Even if it does not mention free trade or protectionism in its program, François Asselineau has several times stated its position on this subject. In a video from February 2017, the candidate of the UPR reported: “I’m not a protectionist or liberal, or more exactly I am the one and the other.” More specifically, in the hypothesis where France would come out of the european Union, the UPR wants to renegotiate for all of the free-trade agreements with the countries surrounding it. For François Asselineau, as he explains in another video, “a free-trade agreement does not mean that everything flows freely in all directions, it means that there is agreement on the rules that will manage the trade”. The president of the UPR does not exclude to implement “a little protectionism”, e.g. to “encourage the resettlement of the land of 200.000 farmers.” “Family farmers are disappearing under the battering of imports from countries of the european Union”, explains François Asselineau in this video, denouncing the “all-out competition with countries that do not have the same rules of the game”.
• Workers ‘Struggle (LO)
The candidate of Workers’ Struggle, Nathalie Arthaud, it is also difficult to classify. In their leaflet campaign, the question of free trade is not mentioned. Asked on may 13, 2019 by Marianne on the opening of trade negotiations with the United States, approved on 15 April by the member States, Nathalie Arthaud explained: “I do not pretend to the role of negotiator or arbitrator among the major capitalist powers, or their governments. Regardless of the arena chosen, it is always the relations of power that prevail. To change the situation, workers shall monitor all accounts, those companies, the banks, the abolition of secret commercial and industrial. It is necessary to prevent the decisions that concern the whole population is dependent on the good will of the high peaks of the organizations finance and capitalist enterprises, whether they be european or american”. On its website, the party’s trotskyist lambasted by the economic protectionism. “The supporters of protectionism claim that the return to customs duties on the imported products would help the companies that produce in France and that the job would be well protected. It is a deception: the protectionism only protects the capitalists, not the workers! (…) The borders, it is the weapon of the bosses to divide the workers,” he writes.
