Towards better protection against unfair trading practices: Call on the European Parliament to regulate unfair trading practices and protect producers in third countries

On 15 June, the European Parliament’s Committee on Agriculture and Rural Development (AGRI) adopted a significant report aimed at strengthening the cooperation of enforcement authorities responsible for implementing the European directive on unfair trading practices (UTPs) within the agri-food supply chain.

COLEAD and the Fair-Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) welcome this progress, which marks a decisive step towards closing existing gaps and ensuring that every farmer and small agri-food supplier, whether in the EU or not, can benefit from better protection against unfair or abusive behaviour.

However, there is still one major concern: the current definition of ‘cross-border unfair trading practices’ does not cover situations where the buyer is in the EU and the supplier is outside the EU. This omission puts producers in third countries at a disadvantage, as they are often among the most vulnerable, and it also creates unfair competition to the detriment of operators supplying the EU market.

COLEAD and FTAO therefore urge the European Parliament to amend this definition during the plenary vote to ensure that all unfair cross-border practices, regardless of the location of the parties involved, are covered by the directive.

As Jeremy Knops, General Delegate of COLEAD, emphasises:

‘To build inclusive, sustainable and fair agri-food systems, it is essential that all actors, including farmers and agri-food MSMEs in low- and middle-income countries, are protected against unfair trading practices.