Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 February 2014
113. Deputy Dominic Hannigan asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if he will provide a full account of Ireland’s input into the EU position in the EU-US trade talks and desired outcomes for Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8433/14]
View answerNegotiations between the EU and the US on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) began formally in July 2013, with the first round of negotiations held in Washington in the week beginning 8 July 2013. Two further rounds of negotiations took place in November and December 2013 while the fourth round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Brussels during week commencing 10 March 2014. Because of the huge potential importance of the Partnership to the transatlantic economy and the extent of preparatory work undertaken before launching the process, negotiations are taking place at a relatively fast pace. A political stocktaking meeting between the principal negotiators, Commissioner Karel de Gucht and United States Trade Representative Mr. Michael Froman, took place on 17 and 18 February. This meeting looked at all issues across the negotiating agenda and discussed the best means to keep the negotiations moving forward with the pace and energy that both sides have demonstrated to date.
The negotiations with the United States are aimed at eliminating tariffs, improving market access to the EU and U.S. markets for both parties by agreements on trade in services and investment, improving opportunities for businesses to win contracts in the extensive public procurement markets on both sides and enhancing regulatory co-operation, coherence and development to ensure existing high quality regulations are maintained but the regulatory burden on business is eased where possible.
Impact assessment studies undertaken by the EU Commission suggest that as much as 80% of the long term gains from the TTIP will be achieved by changes to regulatory practices, such as the range of technical standards that apply to products sold in both the EU and the US. As most of the potential gains from TTIP will arise from regulatory convergence and mutual recognition of each parties regulatory regimes, companies and especially SME’s will benefit from lower regulatory compliance costs. All of this will provide significant opportunities for Irish businesses to increase their access to the US market and at lower costs, as well as reducing the costs of goods that companies here buy from the US as part of their global supply chains / manufacturing activity or as goods for consumer use.
The EU and the US already have very strong trading and investment ties. The conclusion of a Trade and Investment Agreement with the US would have a significant and positive impact on trade, resulting in new markets for Irish exporters and bringing positive effects on job creation and competitiveness. A comprehensive deal on areas such as common regulatory standards and investment rules holds massive potential for economic growth and jobs which it is estimated could over time boost EU GDP by 0.5% per annum and help create approximately 400,000 jobs in the EU. The scale of benefits can be judged from estimates that the agreement could boost the EU economy by €120 billion, that of the US by €90billion and that of the rest of the world by €100 billion.
From the outset my Department has encouraged the Commission to seek the most ambitious programme of tariff reductions possible. This is because of the impact on both the costs of doing business in Ireland and the wider competitiveness and consumer benefits. While current tariffs are already low on trade, even low tariffs can act as a tax on trade that in reality serves little or no purpose.
At the same time we are seeking progress on deeper and more intense co-operation among regulators so that the onerous costs business face in duplicative regulatory compliance work on both sides of the Atlantic can be minimised or removed. The agreement will not bring about regulatory change which would lower the high quality standards our citizens and consumers have come to expect from the EU. I am committed to having a regulatory regime that ensures the most effective application and protection for EU citizens. Both I and other EU Ministers made this clear during negotiations last June on the Council’s negotiating mandate to the Commission on TTIP.
It also has to be acknowledged that because of the scale and importance of this agreement, a number of confidence building measures on both sides were linked to getting the talks underway last year. One of these was the lifting of the US ban on imports of Irish beef, again an area that I spoke to the Commissioner about on a number of occasions. I am pleased that the US has published proposals to open its market to Irish beef exports and that work is advancing on the essential veterinarian procedures to be agreed to enable trade to start. However, I would not be supportive of radical changes that would disproportionately affect the sensitive agriculture sectors of the EU economy and I have made these points directly and personally to the Commissioner.
In addition to coordinating the interests of other Departments, enterprise development agencies and business associations, to promote our strategic interests as the TTIP negotiations develop, my Department recently engaged international expertise to examine the economic and other impacts TTIP and related potential opportunities. The focus of this study will be to identify key areas and sectors of the economy that will be impacted by the TTIP. This work will help to inform our input to the Commission’s negotiating position and to identify appropriate policy responses to be deployed to maximise the potential of this historic agreement and provide an assessment of the longer term implications for enterprise policy.
