Vol. 503 No. 3
124 Mr. C. Lenihan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment her views on the Irish Exporters' Association statement that firms should be indemnified for losses incurred due to current trade disputes between the US and the EU. [9840/99]
On 6 April 1999, a WTO panel ruled that the EU revised banana import regime is non-WTO compatible. The panel assessed the damage to US interests at $191 million, which is less than half the amount of sanctions threatened by the US. The EU Commission and the member states are currently studying the panel report.
On 9 April, the US published a revised list of products to reflect the panel's findings; exports of these products from the EU would be subject to 100 per cent tariffs.
My Department and I are monitoring the potential impact of these proposed sanctions on Irish exporters. Some products of importance to Irish exporters which featured on the US preliminary list, including greeting cards, chandeliers and pig meat, are now no longer affected, and therefore, the impact, if any, of the proposed sanctions would be considerably lessened.
There are ongoing discussions within the EU and also between the EU Commission and the US, with a view to resolving the dispute. Ireland is very active in these discussions. There are no proposals for any indemnification scheme currently under consideration.
