Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 26 Nov 1996

Vol. 472 No. 1

Written Answers. - WTO Ministerial Meeting.

Eric J. Byrne

Question:

84 Mr. E. Byrne asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the plans, if any, he has to use the opportunity of the forthcoming World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Singapore, which he will be attending on behalf of the EU, to highlight the importance of food security for the developing world and to work for practical measures to achieve it including the reform of the World Trade Organisation to allow developing countries to protect their food systems, the introduction of effective regulations outlawing the dumping of agricultural surpluses and the compensation of food-importing countries for increases in world food prices caused by recent changes in world trade rules; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22536/96]

Ray Burke

Question:

274 Mr. R. Burke asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade, in view of the recent Government White Paper on Foreign Policy, which committed the Irish Government to promoting food security as an urgent priority, and in view of the Maastricht treaty, which emphasised the need for coherence in EU and member state policies with regard to developing countries, whether the Government, as President of the EU, will address at the World Trade Organisation ministerial meeting in Singapore the need to reform the World Trade Organisation and regional trade association rules to allow developing countries to protect their food systems in order to enable self-sufficiency, the need to introduce more effective World Trade Organisation rules to prohibit the dumping of agricultural surpluses and the need to compensate food-importing countries for increases in world food prices caused by changes in World Trade Organisation rules. [22852/96]

Tony Gregory

Question:

280 Mr. Gregory asked the Minister for Tourism and Trade the proposals, if any, he has to work for the reform of the World Trade Organisation and regional trade association rules to allow developing countries to protect their food systems in order to enable them to become food self-sufficient, the introduction of more effective World Trade Organisation rules to outlaw the dumping of agricultural surpluses, the need for a clearer definition of export subsidisation for agriculture consistent with the wider antidumping provisions of the World Trade Organisation so that products should not be marketed overseas at prices below their production costs at home and compensation for food importing countries for increases in world food prices due to the recent changes in world trade rules. [22676/96]

Minister for Tourism and Trade (Mr. E. Kenny)

I propose to take Questions Nos. 84, 247 and 280 together.

The questions from my colleagues come at an appropriate time in the wake of the world food summit which concluded on 17 November last and addressed the issue of eradicating hunger and creating world food security. At that summit it was acknowledged that food security is a complex and multi-faceted concept. If we are to feed all our people, we must produce and distribute food efficiently and trade is vital to this. Appropriate trade policies, in accordance with WTO rules, are therefore an important element in the food security equation.

The WTO agreements, whose implementation will be reviewed at the ministerial conference, contain a number of concessions to developing countries in general — for example, they are subject to less stringent liberalisation time-tables than other WTO members — and special provisions for the least developed countries. The latter are contained in two decisions adopted at the end of the Uruguay round declaring that least developed countries need only undertake WTO commitments to the extent of their ability and promising increased technical assistance and food aid.

As regards the export subsidisation of agricultural products, EU subsidies are being reduced in accordance with the reform programme agreed at the end of 1993 in the Uruguay round. This programme provides for a reduction in the quantities of products subsidised and in expenditure on the same over the course of the six year implementation period of the agreement. The reform programme will be reviewed at the end of the decade and it seems likely that the pattern of reducing subsidy levels will be continued in future WTO Agreements.

Through the decision on measures concerning the possible negative effects of the reform programme on least-developed and net food-importing developing countries adopted at the end of the Uruguay round, Ministers agreed to establish appropriate mechanisms to ensure that the implementation of the results of the Uruguay round on trade in agriculture does not adversely affect the availability of food aid at a level which is sufficient to continue to provide assistance in meeting the food needs of developing countries, especially least developed and net food-importing developing countries.

The report of the committee on agriculture to the ministerial conference recommends that action be initiated within the framework of the food aid convention with a view to the establishment of food aid commitments sufficient to meet the needs of developing and net food-importing developing countries during the Uruguay round reform process.

The EU is supporting the adoption at the ministerial conference of a "plan of action" for least developed countries which should have a beneficial effect in relation to food security.