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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 23 Nov 1999

Vol. 511 No. 3

Written Answers. - WTO Meeting.

Ceist:

102 Mr. Hayes asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if the position of the Government in relation to the upcoming World Trade Organisation negotiations at Seattle will give due regard to the protection of the rights of citizens in parts of the world with crippling national debts; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24009/99]

It is expected that the Third WTO Ministerial Conference will take the necessary decisions to launch a millennium round of trade negotiations across a broad range of trade issues. These negotiations should commence in 2000 and be completed within a three year timeframe. The position of developing countries features in the WTO preparatory run-up to Seattle along with other issues, including, for example, agriculture, services, tariffs, competition, electronic commerce, intellectual property, environment, investment, trade facilitation, government procurement, technical barriers to trade and core labour standards.

WTO members are currently trying to finalise a ministerial declaration for adoption at Seattle which will cover the scope and modalities of the proposed negotiations.

Ireland's position on the new round has been developed in co-operation with our European Union partners, in keeping with our treaty obli gations, and EU submissions have been made to the WTO outlining the Union's views on the new round. The EU approach has been to call for a comprehensive round of trade negotiations involving a broad range of issues. It is considered that this is the best way to address the challenges resulting from rapid and far-reaching economic changes, to manage properly and effectively the globalisation process, to promote equitable growth and development and to respond in a balanced manner to the interests of all WTO members, in particular the developing countries.
Addressing the concerns of developing countries is a key strategy in the EU approach to the new round. Special and differential treatment for developing countries is already a cornerstone of existing WTO agreements and in the new round there is a need to examine how these provisions can be implemented or changed so as to have a better impact for developing countries. The traditional approach has mainly been to base special and differential treatment for developing countries on extended implementation periods. Other methods can be examined during the future negotiations.
In addition to special and differential treatment, Ireland, along with the EU, will sponsor a call for duty and tariff free market access for products from least developed countries to all markets by 2003. Capacity building, technical assistance and coherence between international bodies have also been identified by the EU as a contribution to the developing countries concerns.
Developing countries themselves are actively involved in addressing their particular concerns for the new round and considerable time has been spent on implementation issues in the discussions on the draft ministerial declaration. Given that the WTO operates by consensus, the approval of developing countries to any final arrangements will be essential before the negotiations can be successfully concluded.
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