Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 June 2004
28 Mr. McCormack asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if her Department contacted the EU Trade Commissioner and the World Trade Organisation on the resumption of the Doha round of trade talks; the nature of that correspondence; and whether there will be a successful outcome of those talks. [17936/04]
View answer63 Ms Burton asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether world trade talks shall resume. [18044/04]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 28 and 63 together.
The operation of the EU's common trade policy lies within the competence of the European Commission. In recent months the Commission has been to the forefront of efforts to re-launch the Doha development agenda negotiations. Last September they stalled following the failure of the WTO ministerial meeting in Cancún.
The most recent major initiative taken by the Commission took place on 9 May. The Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy and Agriculture Commissioner, Franz Fischler, issued a joint letter to all of the other members of the WTO. It set out the key areas where the EU felt that movement was needed if the negotiations were to progress and what the EU was prepared to propose in these areas.
The letter focused on agriculture, non-agricultural market access, Singapore issues and development. Most particularly the EU indicated that it was prepared to negotiate on the elimination of EU agricultural export subsidies provided other WTO members reciprocated on other forms of export competition such as export credits, state trading entities and food aid. An overall balance must also be achieved between and within the pillars on agriculture, including market access, domestic support and export subsidies.
The Singapore issues included investment, competition, trade facilitation and government procurement. The EU indicated that trade facilitation was the principle area it wanted early negotiations on. The EU is prepared to leave the other areas for further consideration within the WTO.
A significant element of the EU initiative related to the development aspect of the negotiations. The EU now proposes that, in so far as agriculture and non-agricultural market access is concerned, the least developed countries and other weak or vulnerable developing countries in a similar situation should not have to open their markets beyond their existing commitments. They should be able to benefit from increased market access offered by both developed and advanced developing countries. There has been a mixed reaction to the EU initiative. Intensive discussions are taking place in Geneva in an attempt to agree a basis for the re-launch of negotiations. The hope is that an agreed framework can be put in place by the end of July.
As Minister for trade and commerce, and in the context of the Irish Presidency of the EU, I have been actively involved in facilitating EU member state participation in the development of EU policy in this area. My officials and I have been closely involved with the Commission in the efforts to put the negotiations back on track.
