Written Answers. - Blair House Agreement.
Jimmy Deenihan
Question:
199
Mr. Deenihan
asked the
Minister for Agriculture, Food and Forestry
the various initiatives which he has made over the past two months to address the major implications for Irish agriculture if the Blair House Agreement is accepted in its present form; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
The Blair House Agreement was concluded between US and Union negotiators in November 1992. As the Deputy will be aware, I had major reservations on this agreement from the very outset.
My major concern related to the volume restriction on subsidised exports and in particular the proposed modalities for its implementation which would have necessitated immediate substantive cuts in Union exports of a number of products in particular beef and some dairy products. This commitment could not have been accommodated within the outcome of CAP reform and this was not acceptable to me. I also had concerns relating to certain other aspects of the Agreement including the need for acceptance of the Union's approach to market access.
I outlined my concerns at all relevant Union fora and I raised them at every opportunity in bilateral discussions with the Commission, Union Ministers and representatives from countries outside the Union. In the event, on 20 September 1993 the Joint General Affairs-Agriculture Council reaffirmed that the Union must ensure that its international commitments were compatible with the CAP and that the outcome must not jeopardise the CAP or its basic principles. Furthermore, the Council, at the insistence of a number of other Ministers and myself laid down guidelines for the Commission for the conduct of further negotiations.
These further negotiations culminated in another agreement with the US early last December in which significant adjustments were secured and which are now part of the final outcome on agriculture. The main modifications secured related to the export support commitments, market access and the peace clause. By comparison with the Blair House Agreement, the revised arrangements will allow the Union in the period up to 1999 to export some additional 362,000 tonnes of beef, 146,000 tonnes of dairy products, 8 million tonnes of cereals and 269,000 tonnes of poultry and eggs. The acceptance of the Union's market access arrangements will help to safeguard Union preference while the extension of the peace clause will ensure that Union agriculture support measures are not subject to undue challenge in the GATT.
These modifications almost fully address the concerns I expressed regarding the Blair House Agreement. I am satisfied therefore that the outcome of the Round should not impose undue constraints over and above the CAP reform decisions.
However, in the event that additional measures might be necessary in some sectors I secured explicit assurances at the Agriculture Council in December that, if this was the case, any consequential measures would be based on principles already agreed and in particular that any such measures would be shared out fairly, taking account of the circumstances of certain categories of producers and of the most affected regions. The council also, at my specific request, asked the Commission to make full use of its statutory powers to ensure stability on internal markets adversely affected by commitments made within the GATT.
While the GATT outcome is therefore much more positive than would have been the case under the Blair House Agreement this is not to say that it will not present some challenges for the agriculture sector. It will be necessary for the sector to become more market-led and competitive and this is an approach I have been advocating for some years. Based on results to date I am confident that the industry will meet the coming challenges. I for my part will continue to develop policies to assist the industry to become more competitive and will seek to ensure that the implementation arrangements of the GATT agreement protect Irish agri-food interests.
