Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

As a small open economy, international trade and the global rules-based system which supports that trade are critical for the continued development of the Irish economy. In the case of the Irish agri-food sector, our exports are very high quality. They are sustainably produced goods and we export them to some 180 countries around the world. This highlights the importance of the rules-based trading system for our agri-food sector. It is clear that the global economy is facing many new challenges, including those associated with sustainability and climate change. These challenges need to be addressed in the context of a coherent international trade policy. Ireland therefore supports approaches at European level which promote collaboration with international partners in order to achieve sustainability objectives, including the shaping of EU trade policy to achieve these objectives.

Specifically, Ireland supports the approaches outlined in the European Commission’s June 2022 report on the application of EU health and environmental standards to imported agricultural and agri-food products. That report confirms that the EU should work collaboratively with global trading partners to find solutions to address such cross-cutting global policy issues in multilateral institutions, including in the international standards bodies, the World Organisation for Animal Health, OIE, the International Plant Protection Convention, IPPC, and the Codex Alimentariusor food code; that the EU's commitment to sustainable food systems is at the heart of its approach to addressing issues in these international fora, and is a focus of EU trade policy development; and that the EU negotiates robust sustainability chapters in new EU free trade agreements with third countries, including specific chapters on sustainable food systems. The new EU-New Zealand trade agreement includes both ambitious sustainable food systems and trade and sustainability chapters. The 2022 report further confirms that the use of autonomous trade measures by the EU to address sustainability priorities is evaluated on a case-by-case basis to ensure that they are fair, transparent, non-discriminatory and compliant with World Trade Organisation rules.

See this speech in context