Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Ireland has recovered strongly from the economic crash by developing our opportunities for strong export growth. The USA is an important trading partner for Ireland and Ireland stands to gain if barriers restricting trade are reduced. This is the purpose of the current negotiations with the USA. The mandate given to the EU Commission, which is the negotiator for the EU side, is a broad-ranging one, covering virtually all sectors of economic interest, not just tariffs but also non-tariff barriers, as well as opportunities for global standards setting.

One of the objectives in the EU–US trade agreement is greater regulatory coherence to ease red tape for firms. This will not be at the expense of consumers or standards. There will be no dilution of labour or of environmental standards, no change in governing access of GM products to Ireland, no dilution of the right to regulate and no interference in public service provision. The mandate recognises that each side can continue to organise public services and regulate in the public interest in sensitive areas such as hormone treated meat and genetically modified organisms. This has been reinforced by a joint declaration from EU Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström and the US Trade Representative Mike Froman.

There have been 11 rounds of negotiations to date, the 11th round taking place in Miami from 19 to 23 October 2015. In concrete terms, the EU and the US have made substantial progress on all three pillars of the proposed agreement, namely, market access for EU and US companies, regulatory co-operation and trade rules. Both sides remain positive and expect further substantial progress by early next year. On 8 July, the European Parliament voted for a resolution supporting the EU-US trade agreement, including such a reformed investment protection mechanism.

At the Council of Trade Ministers scheduled for 27 November in Brussels, I will have the opportunity to discuss the European Commission’s proposal for a new investment court system. I will also discuss progress on these negotiations with Commissioner Malmström and with EU Council colleagues.

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