The Minister said, “It is essential that we have balanced agreements, which serve both our offensive and our defensive interests, for example in striking the right balance between the protection of sensitive products and securing increased market access for exported products. They must also ensure that there is a level playing field in relation to, for example, the environmental sustainability of production systems in the EU and in our trading partners. And it is critical that the cumulative impact of multiple trade agreements is fully taken into account. For example, throughout the Mercosur negotiations, we consistently called for the Commission’s 2016 study of cumulative impacts to be updated in relation to sensitive products. Market access offers to countries currently engaged in negotiations with the EU should be fully informed by the findings of this updated study, which will be published shortly.”