Tom Hayes (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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Question 153: To ask the Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs if he will report on the level of trade between developing countries and Ireland; the steps his Department is taking to improve trade with developing countries; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7610/05]

Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Trade with developing countries represented 4.97%, €4.16 billion, of Ireland's exports and 10.83%, €5.42 billion, of our imports in 2004 compared with 5.01% for exports and 10.16% for imports in 2003. Trade with least developed countries accounted for 0.24%, €199.1 million, of Irish exports and 0.28%, €139.4 million, of imports in 2004 whereas the figures for 2003 were 0.15% and 0.25% for exports and imports respectively.

Ireland recognises the constraints that face developing countries and in particular least developed countries in their efforts to increase their share of world trade. Trade is an important and effective lever for development and hence the alleviation of poverty. Archbishop Diarmuid Martin has recently highlighted the importance of trade to developing countries. In common with other European Union member states Ireland has placed a very clear emphasis on the need to assist developing countries and particularly least developed countries to integrate into the world economy as a necessary condition for their future development. Such integration, which is one element in the process of poverty reduction in the least-developed countries, will be deeper and fairer if anchored in the World Trade Organisation multilateral trading system.

In the context of the delivery of the development dimension of the latest round of World Trade Organisation negotiations known as the Doha development agenda, DDA, Ireland is committed to working hard to secure genuinely pro-development outcomes in all areas of the DDA work programme.

The European Union is giving priority in the Doha round negotiations to the achievement of real benefits for developing countries. Discussion is taking place across the full range of issues including market access, special and differential treatment, trade related assistance and capacity building targeted at those most in need. Developing countries by increasing their trade capacity can enhance export earnings, promote industrialisation and encourage the diversification of their economies.

An important practical element of Ireland's support for the integration of developing countries into the world economy is trade related capacity building. Ireland recognises that the lack of adequate institutional and human capacity to deal with the complexity of the multilateral trading system is a key issue for sustainable development. We are assisting the developing countries through a number of mechanisms, for example the World Trade Organisation Law Advisory Centre, the Agency for International Trade Information and Cooperation, the International Trade Centre etc..

Whilst multilateral trade liberalisation is the priority, effective preference arrangements can provide a stepping stone to help developing countries benefit in the long run from such broader liberalisation. A key instrument in helping developing countries achieve these objectives is the provision of non-reciprocal tariff preferences under the EU's generalised system of preferences, GSP, which is currently being renegotiated. In 2001 the EU also introduced an initiative known as the everything but arms initiative which provides for duty and quota free access to the EU market for essentially all products from least developed countries. Furthermore, with a view to fostering the smooth and gradual integration of African, Caribbean and Pacific, ACP, states into the world economy the EU is negotiating economic partnership agreements, EPAs, with six regional groupings of ACP states. The EPAs are first and foremost instruments for development that will promote sustainable development and contribute to poverty eradication in ACP countries.