Simon Coveney (Cork South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Under the EU-Canada trade agreement initialled last month by President Barroso and the Canadian Prime Minister, Canada was awarded a tariff rate quota for beef of 50,000 tonnes carcase weight equivalent. This equates to a quota of 39,000 tonnes of boneless beef. The quota is split between fresh and chilled beef comprising 31,000 tonnes, plus the existing 4,000 tonnes quota as part of the hormones agreement, and frozen beef comprising 15,000 tonnes. As regards pigmeat, Canada was awarded a quota of 75,000 tonnes.

The agreement has yet to be endorsed by the EU Council of Ministers and the European Parliament. Moreover, certain matters, including details of the management of tariff rate quotas, have still to be finalised. However, under EU veterinary legislation the principle of equivalence will apply. This means that all imports of beef and pigmeat into the EU must be produced to standards equivalent to those applicable in the EU and in plants that are approved by the EU Commission. The regime is monitored by the EU Food and Veterinary Office.

There was concern about the EU-Canada agreement. Ireland has been very involved in this at a very high political level in the European Union. What Canada was seeking initially was a far higher beef quota access to the European Union that did not have the restrictions of chilled or fresh and frozen, so the deal that has been struck is much better than what was sought at the outset. It is also important to note that Canada does not have a beef industry of any scale that produces hormone free beef, which is the beef that will have to come into the European Union because of the restrictions in the Union. The assessment made by Teagasc is that Canada simply does not have the capacity to sell large volumes of hormone free beef into the European market and will not have it in the next three to four years. This might become an issue in terms of increased amounts of Canadian beef coming into the EU, but it will not happen immediately. Also, of course, we have opportunities in terms of significantly increased dairy access into the Canadian market from the European Union.

The deal could have been much worse and Ireland was very much involved in limiting the damage in that respect.

See this speech in context