Vol. 548 No. 4
122 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Rural Development the position regarding the implications for the agriculture sector arising from the World Trade Organisation's discussions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5233/02]
A new round of multilateral trade negotiations was launched at the WTO ministerial conference in Doha in November 2001. While not prejudging the outcome of the negotiations, the ministerial declaration for the round commits WTO Members to negotiations in relation to agriculture aimed at: substantial improvements in market access, reductions of, with a view to phasing out, all forms of export subsidies and substantial reductions in trade-distorting domestic support.
The declaration also provides that special and differential treatment for developing countries shall be an integral part of all elements of the negotiations and that non-trade concerns will be taken into account.
It would be inappropriate to speculate on the outcome of the negotiations, which are scheduled to conclude by 2005. However, I am satisfied that the terms of the ministerial declaration are in accordance with the EU's negotiating mandate on agriculture, which was agreed by the Council of Ministers and which is largely based on the Agenda 2000 agreement. The mandate provides a satisfactory framework for protecting the interests of the Irish agriculture and food industries and it is my intention to ensure that it will be respected in the forthcoming negotiations. The fact that the outcome of the negotiations on export subsidies, in particular, is not prejudged, represented a major achievement for Ireland at the Doha conference.
