asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if, in the light of his reply to Parliamentary Questions Nos. 4, 5 and 26 of 5 November he will specify which specific provisions of the State's treaty obligations under GATT and the European Community would be broken if the State were to impose a unilateral ban on trade with the South African regime.
Written Answers. - Ban on Trade with South Africa.
38.
A unilateral ban on trade with South Africa would conflict with the State's obligations under Article 113 of the Treaty establishing the European Economic Community and under Articles 30 to 36 of the same Treaty, unless the measures imposing the ban could be justified by reference to a permitted derogation from the general rules on grounds of public morality, public policy or public security. Such a ban would also offend against Article XI of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade unless it could be justified by reference to a permissible derogation on specified grounds, for example, public policy or security.
Other provisions of both the EC Treaty and the GATT could be breached depending on the nature of the goods affected and the specific measures by which a ban was imposed.