Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

147. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the extent to which EU/US and EU/Japan will benefit this country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23622/13]

Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The overarching theme of the Irish Presidency is the contribution of trade to growth, jobs and economic recovery; consequently I attach great importance to promoting the EU’s external trade agenda for the benefit of Irish exporters.

Trade policy is an essential component of the EU’s growth compact. Expanding trade is also essential to job creation: About 30 million jobs in the EU depend on sales to the rest of the world, an increase of 10 million jobs since 1995. On average, each additional €1 billion of exports supports between 8,000 and 15,000 additional jobs across the EU. Research in Ireland by Forfas suggests that over 4 jobs are sustained by indigenous companies for every €1 million in exports.

Trade Negotiations underway or planned could boost EU GDP by more than 2% or €250bn -equivalent to the size of the Austrian or Danish economy — and support an increase of more than 2 million jobs related to trade across the EU. Ireland will continue to target the markets where there are FTAs or where FTAs are in prospect to avail of the opportunities they present.

In its report, issued in February this year, the EU-US High Level Working Group on Jobs and Growth concluded that a comprehensive agreement addressing a broad range of bilateral trade and investment issues, including regulatory issues, and contributing to the development of global rules, would provide the most significant mutual benefit for both parties. An ambitious and comprehensive transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) could benefit the EU economy by as much as €119 billion per year and the US by up to €95 billion. [For a family of four in the EU, that would translate on average to an extra €545 in disposable income annually.] Consequently it recommended an ambitious approach to negotiating a trade and investment agreement between the two biggest parties in the transatlantic marketplace.

The EU Council is considering a negotiating mandate that will set the parameters in which the EU Commission will seek to negotiate a TTIP. The Irish Presidency has prioritised securing agreement from EU member states on the final negotiating mandate.My Department is working intensively to achieve this at the Trade Council on June 14. The US is a traditional yet strong market for Ireland. In 2011 Ireland exported €27 billion worth of Goods and Services to the US making the US our second largest export market, while total trade with the US was over €58 billion.

A comprehensive agreement with the US will remove virtually all tariffs and significantly reduce over time important regulatory and technical barriers to trade. These changes would reduce the cost of Irish exports to US consumers as well as reducing or eliminating the cost and administrative burden on firms having to meet two sets of regulatory and compliance requirements. An agreement with the US will also make it easier and cheaper to sell services to the US as well as new opportunities in gaining access to the huge US public procurement market. As negotiations with the US have not yet started and as it will be some time before initial offers are exchanged it is not possible at this stage to establish precise detail about the economic impact on the economy.

EU-Japan

The Japanese market for Irish goods and services presents many opportunities for Irish companies. In 2012 we exported over €2 billion in goods to Japan, an increase of 20% on 2011. Trade with Japan is significant and that economy is our 11th largest export market.

Negotiations on a free trade agreement between the EU and Japan were launched on 25 March 2013. The aim is for a comprehensive agreement in goods, services and investment eliminating tariffs, non-tariff barriers and covering other trade-related issues, such as public procurement, regulatory issues, competition and sustainable development.

Analysis is underway on the economic benefits of a trade agreement with Japan. As negotiations have only commenced in the past few weeks, certainty about the impact on the Irish economy will become clearer when initial offers are exchanged possibly next year.