The Fair Trade Advocacy Office (FTAO) welcomes the adoption of the report aimed at restoring balanced power relations in the agri-food supply chain, which contains an article defining the criteria that commercial schemes must respect to use terms such as ‘fair’ and ‘equitable’. However, the FTAO strongly regrets the rejection of a crucial cross-party amendment that would have clarified what a ‘remunerative price’ really means. This decision opens a dangerous loophole that could legitimise abuse and exploitation under the label of fairness.

The proposal, backed by over 60 Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), would have required that any price claimed as ‘remunerative’ be proven through verifiable and transparent methodologies and that the same rules apply to both EU and imported products. The amendment was rejected by 20 votes, with the majority of the Group of the European People's Party and far-right groups choosing to keep the system opaque and open to fairwashing. 

During negotiations, the AGRI Committee had strengthened the Commission’s proposal, adding legal certainty and aligning it closely with the practices and principles long-defended by the Fair Trade Movement. But the essential challenge of the shortcomings in the definition of ‘remunerative’ remained. Today's plenary vote was a missed opportunity to address it, and by not doing so, the European Parliament has betrayed farmers and consumers by allowing unfair pricing practices to be marketed as ‘fair’, undermining trust in the entire supply chain and in truly fair schemes.

• “We are deeply disappointed to see MEPs aligning with the far right and opening a dangerous backdoor for exploitation. Today’s vote represents a political failure that gives abusive buyers a free pass to call unfair prices ‘fair’,” said Jorge Conesa, Managing Director at the FTAO. “The only actors who benefit from rejecting this amendment are the irresponsible large buyers, processors and retailers eager to make unsubstantiated ‘fair’ claims while continuing to exploit farmers,” Conesa added.

The Fair Trade Movement, alongside farming communities across Europe and around the world, has long denounced the abusive practices that force farmers to sell their products under unfair and unsustainable conditions. The FTAO is appalled to see the EU institutions failing to act to end these structural abuses, while farmers also face the risk of their buyers publicly proclaiming themselves to be ‘fair’ while continuing to exploit them.

While the European Parliament has missed a golden opportunity to close this gap, the upcoming trilogue negotiations and the European Commission’s adoption of implementing acts still offer a chance to tackle unreliable claims and strengthen the regulation. The Fair Trade Movement stands ready to share its expertise with co-legislators, ensuring that ‘fair’ truly means fair and translates into real, measurable increases in farmers’ revenues.

Press contact

Michelle Barrientos, Communications Officer
communications@fairtrade-advocacy.org