Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

Flexibility must be afforded to African countries in terms of the WTO. The Minister and the Minister of State both appreciate the importance of integrated thinking between trade and development. It is important, however, that African countries should be allowed to apply tariffs and subsidies to create food security. For example, Asian rice is being dumped in Africa where production of upland rice is forbidden by trade restrictions. In addition, African farmers are not allowed to produce chickens, while Germany exports large quantities of chicken portions to Africa. This makes no sense in food-insecure countries. Does the Government favour an integrated approach to allow adjustments in trade regulations in the multilateral institutions, thus saving the development intention?

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