The European Union is planning to pursue new restrictions on imported food products treated by toxic pesticides banned in the bloc to address farmers’ complaints about the stricter standards they face in an increasingly competitive global market.
The European Commission, the bloc’s executive arm, "will establish a principle that the most hazardous pesticides banned in the EU for health and environmental reasons are not allowed back to the EU through imported products,” according to a draft document to be published Wednesday.
EU farmers have been protesting across Europe over the past year about the increasing burdens of the bloc’s climate and environmental rules. As a result, they have been fighting a trade deal concluded with the Mercosur bloc of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay because of the lower requirements in those nations.
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