As the EU ramps up efforts to strengthen its immigration policies, Brussels has proposed punitive trade tariffs on countries that do not accept repatriation of citizens who have entered Europe illegally.

The European Commission’s move is its latest response to a wave of populism fueled by anti-immigrant rhetoric.French President Emmanuel Macron Facing a tough re-election battle with far-right Marine Le Pen in this month’s election, immigration hardliners Victor Orban A landslide poll victory in Hungary over the weekend.

The EU grants duty-free access to imports from nearly 70 developing countries to boost their economic development. But in its review of the plan, the commission proposed to revoke the privilege, known as the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), for countries that refuse to accept citizens expelled from the EU.

Brussels claims it must act because the “brain drain” of migrants to the EU damages their home countries. But some members of the European Parliament have denounced the proposal, which would hit developing countries’ economies by raising the price of exports.

In an interview with the Financial Times on Tuesday, the European Commission said: “Orderly international migration can bring important benefits to migrants’ countries of origin and destination, as well as help meet their sustainable development needs. Strengthening trade, Coherence between development and immigration policies is key to ensuring that the benefits of immigration reach both countries of origin and countries of destination.”

Heidi Hautala, the MEP responsible for guiding the legislation through parliament, said the committee should remove the immigration link from the proposal, which must be agreed by all 27 member states.

“It’s poisonous,” she said. “It undermines the GSP, which was supposed to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development for 2 billion people on the planet.”

She added that trade should not be a weapon against immigration.

The parliamentary trade committee will vote on April 25 on amendments emphasizing cooperative management of immigration, Finland’s Green Party environmental ministry said.

out of 396,000 Immigrants tell When leaving Europe in 2020, only 70,000 returned to their countries, although the process was hampered by the Covid lockdown. Even in 2019, before the pandemic, only 29% of illegal immigrants were told to leave the EU to return home.

Mali, Senegal and Guinea are the countries with the lowest returns, so they are most at risk of losing trade privileges if the European Parliament and member states approve the European Commission’s plan. The proposed tariffs include a 12 percent duty on cotton shirts and a 24 percent duty on canned tuna.

GSP beneficiaries must agree to abide by certain international treaties on labor and human rights or lose their status. Almost 50 of the poorest countries benefit from the Everything But Arms scheme, which exempts all goods except arms and ammunition.

Another 19 low- and lower-middle-income countries have been granted partial or full exemption from tariffs on two-thirds of tax items.

The EU is removing some goods from Cambodia from the GSP due to human rights abuses.