Written Answers. - World Trade Organisation Meeting.
Michael Ferris
Question:
56
Mr. Ferris
asked the
Minister for Foreign Affairs
the input, if any, his Department has had into the preparation of the Irish position for the World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle, having regard to the serious implications of issues being addressed for the developing countries; his views on the necessity for core labour standards and food security in developing countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[25500/99]
While the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment has primary responsibility for co-ordinating Ireland's preparations for participation in the third ministerial meeting of the World Trade Organisation, which is being held in Seattle this week, the Department of Foreign Affairs has been closely involved in these preparations.
The General Affairs Council at its meeting in Luxembourg on 11 October 1999 reached agreement on conclusions for the EU's approach to the conference in Seattle and these conclusions were formally adopted on 26 October 1999. The conclusions propose a broad-based comprehensive round of trade negotiations, to be concluded within a period of three years. Such a comprehensive round offers the opportunity of achieving a broad range of objectives of benefit to all WTO members in terms of further liberalisation and expansion of trade, increased transparency and predictability and equal opportunities for all WTO members to obtain results on the basis of balanced negotiations. Ireland fully supports this approach.
The conclusions adopted last month attach special importance to ensuring that the new round responds to the particular interests and concerns of developing countries. It further holds that a development agenda be reflected in all areas of negotiation. In this context, agriculture in general and food security in particular will be key issues for developing countries. Together with many developed countries, we have been concerned about the effect of the Uruguay Round agreement on agriculture on net food importing developing countries, particularly as regards basic cereal import bills. Since both food aid and subsidies declined substantially in the mid-1990s NFIDC s have faced higher food import bills. Their reliance on food imports means that they are by definition highly vulnerable in such circumstances.
We welcomed the fact that these food security concerns were addressed in the WTO Marrakesh agreement, which provides mechanisms for periodically monitoring the levels of food aid, the adoption of guidelines to ensure a sufficient level of food aid in full grant form and for full consideration in donors' aid programmes of requests for the provision of technical and financial assistance to improve agricultural productivity and infrastructure in least developed countries and net food importing developing countries. While advances have been made on the first two issues greater progress on the question of technical and financial assistance will be an important issue in the future round of negotiations.
The review of the agreement on agriculture will provide an opportunity to address the concerns of developing countries taking into account the review of the operation of the agreement with regard to food security. I welcome the opportunity to deal with this important issue which is of crucial importance to many developing countries. Ireland will be encouraging a sympathetic response to the food security issues identified by developing countries during the forthcoming negotiations.
In general agriculture will be among the most sensitive issues in the new round. This is a particularly sensitive matter for Ireland. Developing countries and Cairns group countries – major agricultural exporters, including Australia and New Zealand – have singled out the EU's agricultural policies as a key issue to be dealt with. It is essential for Ireland that the agreements reached in the framework of Agenda 2000 should not be tampered with in any way and we expect the support of the Commission and other member states on this.
With regard to labour standards, the Council conclusions state that the WTO, in co-operation with other relevant international organisations, should encourage positive incentives to promote the observance of core labour rights. We recognise that this matter is highly sensitive for developing countries. The EU has proposed that a joint ILO-WTO standing working forum on trade, globalisation and labour issues be established to promote a better understanding of the issues involved through a substantive dialogue between all interested parties. In our view this is the most appropriate way to take this issue forward.
One of the most important challenges in the new round will be to ensure that technical assistance is made available to developing countries to such an extent that they are enabled to participate fully in whatever new arrangements emerge from the negotiations which have been launched this week in Seattle. As evidence of our seriousness in this regard the Department of Foreign Affairs has co-operated with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment to assist, together with a number of other countries, in the establishment of an advisory centre in Geneva on WTO law for developing countries.
Ireland will be a founder member of the centre and we will contribute $2.25 million over five years to the centre. The centre will provide invaluable advice and assistance for developing countries – in particular the least developed – in defending their trade rights and availing of the dispute settlement mechanisms of the WTO. In supporting this project we have underlined in a practical way our view that the millennium trade round should reflect closely the needs and interests of the developing world and should facilitate the integration of developing countries into the world trade system.
