Phil Hogan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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Question 69: To ask the Minister for Agriculture and Food the status of the WTO talks; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5624/06]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The negotiations on the new World Trade Organisation, WTO, agreement are ongoing. The ministerial conference, which took place in Hong Kong in December 2005, represented further progress towards the final agreement. In terms of the agriculture negotiations, the most significant development in Hong Kong related to agreement on an end date of 2013 for the elimination of all forms of export subsidy. This elimination date is conditional on the parallel elimination of all forms of export subsidy, namely export refunds, export credits, the trade-distorting practices of state trading enterprises and certain food aid practices. It was agreed that the end date will only be confirmed on completion of all modalities for the new round.

The Hong Kong ministerial conference has also set a deadline of the end of April 2006 for agreement to be reached on the full modalities of the new round. Intensive negotiations are taking place in Geneva at present with a view to making further progress and to meeting the end of April deadline. My overall objective is to ensure that the terms of a new agreement will not necessitate further reform of the Common Agricultural Policy and that the final deal is properly balanced between agriculture and non-agriculture and also within agriculture.

More specifically, my priorities in the ongoing negotiations are as follows: on domestic supports to ensure that the EU system of decoupled direct payments continues to qualify as non-trade-distorting payments under the so-called green box and so remain exempt from reductions under the new round; on export subsidies to ensure that full parallel elimination of all forms of export subsidies is delivered and that the most flexible phasing-out arrangements are achieved; and on market access to retain the maximum possible level of protection against increased imports through minimising tariff cuts, establishing sensitive product status where necessary, minimising tariff rate quota expansion and ensuring that an effective safeguard clause is in place. In respect of access, the whole area of non-trade barriers and standards is extremely important.