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Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 5 Oct 1995

Vol. 456 No. 5

Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - World Trade Organisation.

Tony Killeen

Question:

2 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the current position in relation to developing Ireland's role in the World Trade Organisation. [14100/95]

Noel Dempsey

Question:

27 Mr. Dempsey asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the future strategy of his Department within GATT in the post-Uruguay environment. [14039/95]

Tony Killeen

Question:

146 Mr. Killeen asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the future strategy of his Department within GATT in the post-Uruguay environment. [14153/95]

David Andrews

Question:

155 Mr. Andrews asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the future strategy of his Department within GATT in the post-Uruguay environment. [14162/95]

I propose to take Questions Nos. 2, 27, 146 and 155 together.

Ireland, effectively, participates in GATT and in the new World Trade Organisation as a member of the European Union, the single biggest trading bloc in the world. The EU is represented by the Commission, negotiating in accordance with guidelines laid down by the Council of Ministers. I and my Department ensure that our particular trade interests are fully reflected in the common EU position put forward by the Commission.

The current main priority of the EU, with which Ireland fully agrees, is to ensure full implementation of the agreements reached during the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. As a small country dependent on trade, our strategic interest is in an open trading system where our companies can operate on an even playing field, on the basis of rules which have been agreed multilaterally, but which also caters for the special needs of sensitive sectors like agriculture and textiles.

The newly established World Trade Organisation will have a crucial role to play in ensuring that the trade liberalisation and rule-making measures agreed during the Uruguay Round are fully implemented. The WTO must also oversee the completion of unfinished business from the Uruguay Round, including important negotiations on the liberalisation of trade in services. It is therefore of great importance to Ireland and to the European Union that the WTO performs effectively and that its authority in the international trade area is fully recognised by all.

Ireland's strategy will continue to be one of support for both the full implementation of the trade liberalisation measures agreed during the Uruguay Round and an effective World Trade Organisation. We look forward to these objectives being fully endorsed at the first WTO Ministerial Conference which is to take place in December 1996.

I thank the Minister for his reply. As he pointed out, the Government is committed to full implementation of the agreements reached during the Uruguay Round on trade liberalisation. That is laudable and it appears to be represented mainly by the European Commission. One of my concerns, which is reflected by the Irish Exporters' Association, is that part of the work of the World Trade Organiation includes what the Minister said in his reply, but another part includes developing future policy on industry and technology. This country needs to participate in that to ensure that new regulations would not adversely affect Irish industry or the information technology business and also to ensure that any concerns which we might have in those new areas would be fully addressed.

As I stated in my response, as members of the European Union, we are represented by the Commission at the GATT talks and the World Trade Organisation talks. We fully support the position adopted by the Union in this regard. Our representatives there ensure that Ireland's case is fully heard and its function is to implement the conditions that applied following the Uruguay Round. We agreed with the general approach taken in that round that the liberalisation measures should be implemented, but that adverse effects on sensitive industries like agriculture and the textile sector should be minimised, and that is why they are being introduced over a ten year period. Regarding the two new areas mentioned by the Deputy which will become important as time passes, the Deputy can be assured that our interests will be represented through the Commission on behalf of the EU at those talks. The Deputy will also be aware that the 1996 conference to which I referred will be chaired under the Irish Presidency of the Union.

Will the Minister indicate if there are outstanding elements of the Uruguay Round which have not been implemented and which may be of great concern to exporters and those involved in industry? Is he satisfied that there is a mechanism in place whereby Irish exporters and Irish business generally can have an input to ensure that the Commission represents their views and to ensure that the information coming back from the World Trade Organisation is filtered through to them?

The Deputy can be assured that the exporters have well tested channels of communication to put forward their case. He is aware that the main changes introduced in the Uruguay Round were a 40 per cent reduction in tariffs over five years, stronger rules on non-tariff barriers and areas such as dumping and subsidies, extensions of the rules to cover new areas such as services and intellectual property as well as fuller coverage of agriculture and textiles, an improved dispute settlement procedure and the formation of the World Trade Organisation to implement the agreement. The tariff changes agreed in the round will take effect over a five to ten year period. The changes envisaged and agreed under the Uruguay Round will be implemented over a number of years by the World Trade Organisation. The Deputy can be assured that our interests will be fully outlined through the existing system.

Is the Minister satisfied that anti-trade dumping is being adequately monitored and addressed under the Uruguay Round?

I understand another question has been tabled on that matter.

Let us not anticipate that question now.

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