Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 28 September 2016
254. Deputy Catherine Murphy asked the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation if there has been any analysis carried out on the potential impacts of CETA on public procurement here, including impacts on regularity and policy scope and also on the share of public procurement contracts being held by SMEs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [27718/16]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) is a new generation agreement that will remove tariffs between the EU and Canada and will create sizeable new market access opportunities in services and investment. CETA represents a modern high standard agreement which has the ability to set a new global standard for Trade Agreements. It will end limitations in access to public contracts, open up markets for services and offer predictable conditions for investors.
CETA will save on duty costs as 99.6% of all industrial tariffs will be eliminated on entry into force. Irish firms will also benefit from the recognition of product standards and certification, thus saving on ‘double testing’ on both sides of the Atlantic. These are some of the benefits of the trade deal with Canada as well as providing new market opportunities in many sectors for Irish firms.
The procurement chapter in CETA will eliminate the major asymmetry between the EU and Canada, given that the EU procurement market is already de facto open to Canadians, including at the sub-federal level, while in Canada the access for EU firms is very limited. For the first time, Canadian provinces, territories and municipalities will open their procurement markets to a third country, going well beyond what Canada has offered in the GPA (the multilateral Government Procurement Agreement) or under NAFTA (the North America Free Trade Agreement). Canada’s provincial procurement market is estimated to be double the size of its federal equivalent.
Canada will also create a single electronic procurement website that combines information on all tenders, which corresponds to existing intra-EU arrangements, and would greatly facilitate the effective access of firms, especially small and medium sized enterprises, to procurement opportunities in Canada. Making the trading landscape easier and more predictable is particularly important to SMEs to internationalise and grow exports, given that trade barriers tend to disproportionately burden smaller firms, who have fewer resources to overcome them than larger firms.
I support provisional application of CETA as I am keen to see Irish firms enjoy the tariff free benefits and new opportunities as soon as possible included in the all-important chapters on public procurement, rules and tariffs. The issue of growing market share in other markets is made even more important by the result of the UK referendum on its membership of the EU. CETA and the EU’s other trade agreements help to open new markets, break down barriers and provide new opportunities for Irish firms.
