Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 12 Oct 1999

Vol. 509 No. 1

Written Answers. - WTO Meeting.

John Gormley

Question:

150 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development if a new agreement on agriculture will be negotiated at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle in November 1999; and Ireland's position in relation to this matter. [19467/99]

Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development (Mr. Walsh)

The World Trade Organisation will hold a ministerial conference in Seattle from 30 November to 3 December 1999 to launch a new round of trade negotiations.

Under the auspices of GATT, the WTO's predecessor, an agreement on agriculture was concluded in 1994 as part of the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations. The agreement on agriculture commits WTO members to resume negotiations for the continuation of the trade liberalisation process in 1999. It is expected that the new WTO round, including a new agreement on agriculture, will take a number of years to complete.

Ireland will participate in the Seattle Conference and in the subsequent negotiations as a member of the European Union. The Union has been preparing its overall position for the Seattle Conference for some time and the General Affairs Council of Ministers, at its meeting on 11 October, 1999 agreed a position on most areas of the negotiations, including agriculture. In so far as agriculture is concerned, the General Affairs Council confirmed the position adopted by the Agriculture Council on 27 September, 1999 that: the negotiations on agriculture will be based on the mandate provided in Article 20 of the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture which conditions the long-term objectives of trade liberalisation by other concerns, notably the experience and effects of implementing the commitments agreed in 1994, non-trade concerns, special and differential treatment of developing countries and the objective to establish a fair and market oriented agricultural trading system; the EU position will be based on the full Agenda 2000 package decided by the European Council in Berlin in March, 1999; the EU will be prepared to negotiate reductions in support provided the concept of the blue and green boxes will continue; similar instruments to the peace clause and the special safeguard clause will be needed in the future; the EU will take forward the multifunctional role of agriculture, food safety, food quality and animal welfare, and the EU will actively promote special and differential treatment for developing countries, especially for the least developed countries.