Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Commissioner. The presentation this morning referred to a figure or amount that will be lost to the American Treasury as a result of a reduction of the tariffs, but I did not see a comparable figure for Europe. What will the loss to the Irish Exchequer be as a result of the reduction of tariffs? Does the Commissioner accept that EU member states already have the necessary legal protections and legal infrastructure through which enterprise can ensure they receive justice in respect of trade? Can she guarantee that the new generation ISDS will not, for example, allow a tobacco company to bring the State to court in regard to plain packaging?

It is important to consider the chapters within the treaty referring to public services and the definition of public services within those chapters. Why were public services included in the agreements? The Austrian Foundation for Development Research points out that the Commission's data regarding the costs of the treaty does not include social and macroeconomic costs. Those costs are expected to be dealt with by member states. Can we identify or how should member states identify those costs?

SMEs in the United States saw their proportion of trade in NAFTA reduce over time in comparison with that of larger multinationals. What infrastructure will be put in place to ensure SMEs can harvest their opportunities and that the issue of jobs that are displaced is resolved?