Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach agus cuirim fáilte roimh ár n-aíonna inniu. Tá súil agam go mbainfidh siad taitneamh agus tairbhe as an gcomhrá seo inniu agus as an malartú tuairimí agus mar sin de. Tréaslaím leo as a gcuid oibre san Aontas Eorpach agus i bParlaimint na hEorpa ar ár son.

The question I address to our guests today has to do with the protection of human rights in the context of international trade deals. As our guests know very well, the EU has exclusive competence in negotiating international trade agreements for the bloc and the European Parliament, specifically, needs to give its consent for any agreement.

More and more people are concerned by the economic dependence of so many countries in the world today on China and on the implications for the human rights of countless people of this intertwined dependence on China.

I was recently looking for a toaster and went into a well-known supermarket chain and I turned its own brand toaster upside down and saw: “Made in China”. I said to myself that I would like to deal with another country as much as possible, other than China. I have nothing against the Chinese people but I am worried about economic dependence on China and the extent to which we were dependent on China for our personal protective equipment in the context of the battle against Covid-19, and so on. I hope that people will learn the lessons that flowed from that.

In any event, I looked at the next toaster which was a brand associated with an Irish company and I turned it upside down and what did I read but that it also was made in China. People do not realise the extent to which we have become dependent on China, not just as a trading partner for the purchase of our goods - which I say as a son of the land myself as I am very conscious of China and other such markets for our agricultural produce - but when it comes to areas like healthcare, pharmaceuticals and drug-testing, there are many ways in which we have allowed ourselves to become greatly dependent on China.

The danger is that the focus on trade is such that people forget to press hard for change in the area of human rights and the protection of human dignity. The Seanad voted last year in favour of the Government here using all trade and diplomatic channels to put pressure on China to identify persecution of the Uighur people and other minorities. It remains to be seen what the Government does in pursuit of that but there was a unanimous vote in this House on the subject. Where do our guests stand on the EU-China trade and investment deal? As the European Parliament needs to give its consent, what will our guests’ approach to that be? Specifically, I ask our guests whether they would support the inclusion of ethical clauses in any agreements taking place in the context of that deal?Should we specifically ban the importation of products of Chinese companies that use forced labour, particularly forced labour involving weaker people but also any other kind? Forced labour seems to be a massive problem in China. I would be grateful if this important global issue could be addressed by the MEPs. I am aware it is connected to our economic welfare and trade agenda but the time has come for us to think globally about our security, including the security of the western world in the future. I am thinking in the context of 5G but I am also thinking about whether our economic dependency on China has compromised us, not just in our ability to speak out and act strongly in defence of human rights and human dignity but also in respect of our very security in the longer term. I would be grateful for the thoughts of our MEPs on that.