Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Wednesday, 5 Mar 2003

Vol. 562 No. 5

Written Answers - WTO Negotiations.

Phil Hogan

Ceist:

213 Mr. Hogan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment if she has devised her strategy in respect of the next round of WTO negotiations; the stance being taken in respect of the rules governing intellectual property, instrument and services; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6585/03]

Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (Mr. M. Ahern)

The WTO declaration agreed at the fourth trade ministerial meeting in Doha, in November 2001, provides for a new round of multilateral trade liberalisation negotiations across a broad spectrum of trade related issues. The declaration, one of the key documents from the ministerial, outlines a wide ranging work programme and is the blueprint for negotiations which are scheduled to conclude by 2005.

Negotiations are ongoing across the range of topics involved including, in relation to trade related issues in the areas of agriculture, services, trade related intellectual property rights, dispute settlement and trade and development. Ireland participates in the negotiations as part of the European Union and the EU and its member states are contributing substantially to the deliv ery of key outputs under the Doha work programme.

As a small open economy, particularly reliant on exports for economic development, Ireland supports a strengthening of the WTO and of the multilateral trading system and an ambitious approach to the elimination of remaining barriers to trade in goods and services. Issues of importance to Ireland under the current round are the conclusion of agreements in the areas of agriculture, services, market access and trade measures to assist the economies of developing countries in particular, focusing on how to better integrate developing countries into the global trading system.

Specifically, in the area of intellectual property, efforts are continuing to respond to concerns about the possible implications of patent protection for access to affordable medicines in poor countries to overcome public health crises. The EU and Ireland are supportive of early agreement on this issue in order to assist those poorer countries with limited or no manufacturing capacity.