Latest news with #AgnesPannierRunacher
Malay Mail
11-06-2025
- Business
- Malay Mail
France clamps down on fast fashion: Shein targeted with ad bans, eco-taxes and stricter rules
PARIS, June 11 — The French Senate on Tuesday adopted a bill to regulate the fast fashion industry by sanctioning companies and banning advertisements. The bill is targeted at Chinese-founded e-commerce giant Shein, which has a reputation for selling lower quality clothes at a very low price. Easy to order and to replace, fast fashion items are exported to France on a large scale, causing pollution and saturating markets. The bill, which had been adopted by the lower house, the National Assembly, in March 2024, was passed by the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, with 337 votes for and only one against. The vote is not the final legislative hurdle: a joint committee of senators and lower house deputies is expected to meet from September to produce a joint text, prior to the final adoption of the law. Before final adoption, the European Commission also has to be notified, to ensure the bill complies with EU law. The bill 'is a major step in the fight against the economic and environmental impact of fast fashion, and a strong signal sent to businesses and to consumers,' said the minister for ecological transition, Agnes Pannier-Runacher, after the vote's results were announced. The text plans to 'reduce the environmental impact of the textile industry', said Anne-Cecile Violland, the centre-right member of parliament who proposed the bill. Fast fashion is a growing market in France, and between 2010 and 2023 the value of advertised products in the sector grew from 2.3 billion euros to 3.2 billion euros. Around 48 clothing items per person are released into the French market each year, and 35 are thrown away every second in the country, according to the state environmental agency Ademe. 'Triple threat' Pannier-Runacher has called fast fashion a 'triple threat' that promoted overconsumption, caused ecological damage and threatened French clothing businesses. The Senate, dominated by the right, modified the bill to target 'ultra' fast fashion companies, such as Asian websites Shein or Temu. The Senate's amendments plan to leave out French and European brands that may be affected by the bill, such as Zara, H&M and Kiabi. The fashion giants will still be obliged to notify their customers about the environmental impact of their products, according to the new bill. 'I have no intention of making French brands that contribute to our country's economic vitality pay a single euro,' said rapporteur Sylvie Valente Le Hir, member of the right-wing The Republicans party. The bill will impose stricter sanctions on fast fashion companies by scoring their 'environmental communication'. This 'eco-score' will affect all fast fashion companies, Pannier-Runacher said. Those with the lowest scores will be taxed by the government up to five euros per product in 2025 and up to 10 euros by 2030. This tax cannot go beyond 50 percent of the price of the original product. Ad ban The bill would impose sanctions on influencers who promote such products and ban fast fashion advertisements. The regulation of the fast fashion industry will only succeed with a 'collective effort', and not by targeting 'a single actor,' Shein spokesperson Quentin Ruffat told RTL radio on Monday. According to Ruffat, the law would 'impact the purchasing power' of French people. On Monday, France's Textiles Industry Union called the bill as 'a first step' and hoped for its 'rapid adoption... even if the text does not entirely fit our expectations'. — AFP
Telegraph
20-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Brexit deal ‘couldn't have gone better' say French fishermen
French fishermen said they 'couldn't have hoped for better' after Sir Keir Starmer surrendered a 12-year deal on fish to the EU. The Prime Minister gave up access to British waters as part of his reset deal with Brussels, which was unveiled alongside EU chiefs in London on Monday. He made the major concession in a 'fish for food' deal to secure a trade-boosting veterinary agreement with the EU, after being ambushed in late-night talks. 'We couldn't have hoped for better,' said Olivier Lepretre, president of the Hauts-de-France regional fisheries committee. 'We are very satisfied, and relieved,' he told the France3 television channel: 'This changes a lot of things. If we no longer had access to British waters, we would have suffered a significant loss of revenue.' He added: 'We had a completely blocked horizon , and this agreement gives us visibility.' The original post-Brexit fishing deal offered the EU five years of access to UK waters. It expires next year. But France, and others, made agreeing a replacement a condition for the Swiss-style veterinary deal and UK-EU defence pact in the reset agreement. As late as Sunday, the UK was insisting any fish deal would have to last four years but that trebled in last-minute negotiations to land the agreement under pressure from Emmanuel Macron. 'This is excellent news for our fishermen', said Agnes Pannier-Runacher, French minister for ecological transition, the sea and fisheries. Other European fishermen also reacted with joy and praised Paris and Brussels for their tough negotiations. Spain has 40 vessels fishing in British waters, which are also fished by Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany. 'The best possible outcome' Ivan Lopez van der Veen, vice-chair of Spain's Cepesca fishing confederation said: 'This was the best deal we could get. 'We had no expectation of increasing our quotas. For the sector, I think it is the best possible outcome. It allows for stability and to reinvigorate the fleet.' He said: 'We would have liked it to be a permanent agreement but 12 years is a good basis for joint management of those waters, as we have always done.' Mr López van der Veen added: 'I cheer for all members that pushed for a deal. We have 27 states and they are all playing for the EU.' 'We are pleased that the highest level in the EU recognises that fishing is an important industry for all of Europe,' said Svend-Erik Andersen, chairman of the Danish fisheries association. Sir Keir claimed that the new deal was good for British fishermen because it offered them long-term stability and did not increase European catch quotas. Steve Reed, the Environment Secretary, also insisted that fishermen had lost 'absolutely nothing' in the new EU deal. Alistair Carmichael, a Liberal Democrat MP and chairman of the rural affairs committee, told Mr Reed that the fisheries often 'get traded off against something else'. In response, the Cabinet minister said: 'I do want to really emphasise this point, because you said fishing was traded out in this deal. It wasn't. 'They've lost absolutely nothing, and they've gained things, particularly access that we did not have before.' But Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish fishermen's federation, said: 'This deal is a horror show for Scottish fishermen, far worse than Boris Johnson's botched Brexit agreement.' The veterinary deal will remove post-Brexit border checks and red tape in exchange for the UK agreeing to align with EU laws on plant and animal health rules. That will benefit British exports, including fish. More than 70 per cent of the fish caught by British boats is sold to the EU. EU bans on exports of live British shellfish imposed after Brexit will also be lifted. Dimitri Rogoff, president of the regional committee for maritime fisheries and marine farming of Normandy, said: 'In Normandy, we're very sensitive to the issue of scallops, it's an extremely important fishery for us. 'We know that British products are fished on the French side, and that these products are sent to the French market at very low prices, which brings prices down a little. So in the end we're competing with our British friends on a product.'
