Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 17 December 2015
215. Deputy Michael Creed asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45846/15]
View answerThe last formal round of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations, which was the eleventh round since negotiations began in 2013, took place from the 19 – 23 October, 2015.
I am pleased to report that negotiations between the EU and the US on trade and investment have accelerated and solid progress has been made.
During this round, negotiators discussed all three pillars of the proposed agreement namely market access for EU and US companies, regulatory cooperation and trade rules.
There was substantial progress on market access for EU and US companies in all three areas, including tariffs, services and public procurement. A second tariff offer covering trade in goods was exchanged and both sides have now arrived at proposals covering 97% of tariff lines. Progress in this area will provide momentum in other areas of the negotiations. There was also discussion in relation to public procurement and it is envisaged that there will be an exchange of market access proposals on public procurement by February 2016.
The negotiations also provided an opportunity to clarify some of the main principles of regulatory cooperation. These included the fact that any cooperation is possible only if the level of protection for consumers stays the same or improves and any form of regulatory cooperation will not change or affect the EU regulatory and democratic process. During this round, the EU presented its first legal textual proposal for a chapter on Trade and Sustainable Development, including labour and the environment, which covers conservation, sustainable management of resources, wildlife, forestry and fisheries, as well as other substantive matters including opportunities for joint initiatives in third countries to further labour rights and environmental protection. The European Commission published this proposal on its website on the 6 November 2015.
On the 12 November 2015, the EU Commission published and formally presented to the US its proposal for a new and more transparent system for resolving disputes between investors and states – the Investment Court System. This proposal is the outcome of a lengthy public consultation process with the Member States, the European Parliament, stakeholders and the public. The Commission’s proposal aims at safeguarding Government’s right to regulate and creates a new system composed of a first instance tribunal and an appeal mechanism based on clearly defined rules, with qualified judges and transparent proceedings. The proposal also includes additional improvements on access to the new system by small and medium sized companies.
An EU-US agreement would be the world’s largest bilateral trade and investment deal, and a successful conclusion is expected to benefit Ireland more than any other EU Member State. Owing to our position as a small open economy, Ireland’s enterprises are particularly well placed to take up opportunities to trade more easily with the US. The key findings of the Copenhagen Economics study, published on the 27 March 2015, are very positive for Ireland indicating a potential impact on the Irish economy of 1.1% increase in GDP. This is double the impact for the EU as a whole.
