Grainswest - Fall 2026

Fall 2026 grainswest.com 37 At demonstrations such as the one pictured above in front of France's National Assembly, farmers across multiple EU countries called for fewer constraints and fair industry practices. THE FRENCH GO FURTHER It quickly became apparent French regulators would aggressively wield the new mirror clause. On Jan. 6, Minister of Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Sovereignty Annie Genevard signed a unilateral decree suspending the import of foodstuffs treated with five active substances banned in the EU. These included the widely used herbicide glufosinate and four fungicides—benomyl, carbendazim, mancozeb and methyl thiophanate. To do this, France invoked a safeguard clause under EU food law that allowed it to act nationally while pressing the Commission to extend the ban EU-wide. “The products we chase out the door must not come back through the window,” said Genevard. The move exposed a sharp regulatory and commercial divide. The French fresh fruit and vegetable importers’ association (CSIF) challenged the government in court. It warned the decree would disrupt 56 per cent of France’s third-country produce imports. When France’s highest administrative court, the Council of State, upheld the decree in May 2026, importers expressed deep concern over the commercial precedent. “This ruling sets, in our view, an important precedent, as it essentially allows the French state to decide on its own whether or not to apply European Union law,” said Véronique Le Bail, CSIF’s general delegate. Le Bail’s warning reveals what can happen when policymakers trade scientific consensus for political expediency and just how quickly a rules-based system can fracture when science is sidelined. A SLIPPERY SLOPE This regulatory pattern has drawn close scrutiny from Canadian agricultural exporters. The proposed Omnibus X represents an alarming shift, believes Mac Ross, vice- president of crop protection at the Canadian Grains Council (CGC). Unlike a risk-based framework that assesses the actual likelihood of harm under normal agricultural use, the hazard-