Written answers

Tuesday, 6 December 2005

Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Trade Liberalisation

9:00 pm

Photo of Trevor SargentTrevor Sargent (Dublin North, Green Party)
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Question 131: To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the position the Government has taken within European Union negotiations in advance of the non-agricultural market access talks due to take place in Hong Kong; his views on whether the arguments raised by development non-governmental organisations that the further removal of tariffs being proposed by the European Union and other developed countries will only lead to poor-country governments facing balance of payments problems, loss of tax revenue, downward pressure on workers' conditions and rights and the undermining of their future industrial development prospects. [37931/05]

Photo of Michael AhernMichael Ahern (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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The declaration adopted at the fourth WTO ministerial meeting held in Doha, Qatar, in November 2001, provided for a new global round of multilateral trade negotiations aimed at liberalising trade across a broad spectrum. The declaration, called the Doha Development Agenda, DDA, provided that the negotiations should pay particular attention to the needs of developing countries. The Sixth World Trade Organisation Ministerial Conference will take place in Hong Kong on 13-18 December next and will consider progress to date in the DDA.

Ireland's priority in the DDA negotiations has been, and is, to see that the process of trade liberalisation continues in a fair and balanced manner and that the WTO continues to provide a stable and constant framework for the regulation of world trade. Central to our approach, and that of the EU, is a commitment to respond positively in the negotiations to the concerns of the developing countries. This is considered to be an essential part of the DDA. Ireland sees early and appropriate agreement on development issues as critical to the success of the DDA and to the positive impact that trade can have on reducing poverty in developing countries, particularly the least developed countries.

There is a strong development dimension to the core DDA negotiations on the reduction of industrial tariffs. Requests by the EU, to other WTO members, to make tariff reduction commitments are being modulated to reflect the level of development of the WTO member to whom the request is directed. The EU approach is not designed to disadvantage poorer developing countries. In the first place, the EU is proposing that there should be differentiated tariff reduction commitments between developed and developing countries. Additionally, poorer developing countries are being offered flexibilities such as less than formula cuts and-or increased periods for implementation. Least developed countries are not being asked to reduce their tariffs. This differentiated approach, and, in particular, that of non-reciprocation in the case of least developed countries, represents key elements of the EU's determination to deliver the development dimension of the DDA negotiations, which Ireland fully supports.

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