Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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626. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the European Commission's plan to reinvigorate the Mercorsor talks; if Ireland has an official position on these; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [9982/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Negotiations between the EU and Mercosur had been in suspension for a number of years, but political developments in late 2015, particularly in Argentina and Brazil, generated a new momentum from the Mercosur side to make progress.

On May 11th 2016, the EU and Mercosur exchanged offers on access to their respective markets of goods, services and establishment and government procurement. This was the first exchange of offers since 2004. Significantly, and following representations made to the EU Commission by Ireland and other Member States, a Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) for beef was excluded from the offer. Both sides will now examine the respective offers in more detail. The EU and Mercosur will hold a chief negotiators meeting before the summer break in order to take stock of the negotiation and to prepare a schedule of meetings for the second semester of the year.

Ireland has long been a supporter an open trade agenda. However, it is essential for Ireland, and indeed other Member States, to have full information so as to be able to assess the potential impacts, both positive and negative, from the various elements of any perspective agreement, to enable us to calibrate our position in the negotiations. Ireland, like a number of other Member States has very strong concerns in relation to agriculture to the EU beef sector, in particular.

I believe that the inclusion of a TRQ would have been extremely unhelpful at this early stage of the negotiations and should only be considered as part of the “end game”, given the sensitivity of the issue. Furthermore, the cumulative impact of all the EU beef offers in Trade Agreements, both those completed and in development, will need to be assessed before a full evaluation of an offer to Mercosur, for this sector, can be considered.

Irish exporters are currently subject to trade tariffs, trade barriers and restrictions, when exporting to Mercosur countries. The EU-Mercosur Trade Agreement should reduce the cost of goods exported to the region which will make imports from Ireland more attractive and potentially increase demand for Irish goods. As in all the EU’s modern Trade Agreements, the agreement will seek to make the trading environment transparent and more predictable, with common rules and access to public procurement markets.

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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627. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the status of the latest developments at European Union Council level on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [10685/16]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership was discussed at the last EU Council of Trade Ministers on 13th May 2016, which I attended.

The Council was informed about the latest developments regarding the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. This included prospects for conclusion of the negotiations under the Obama administration. Member States considered that maintaining a high level of ambition in these negotiations was just as important as the ambitious timetable. They urged the Commission to advance the negotiations, whilst fully respecting its negotiating mandate and the EU interests. While many complex and difficult issues remain to be resolved, both the EU and the US negotiators remain optimistic than a comprehensive and ambitious agreement can be concluded.

This trade deal is important for Ireland. Almost half (49%) of Irish exports outside of the EU end up in the US, compared to the combined average of 16% for all Member States. 25% of foreign direct investment (FDI) in Ireland comes from the US.

Ireland’s enterprises are particularly well placed to take up opportunities to trade more easily with the US. This will build on our already rewarding economic relationship. It will also generate new opportunities to create employment and continue to grow our economy. Studies have shown that the benefits to Ireland will be proportionally greater than in the EU as a whole.

The Copenhagen Economic Report (2013) suggested that an ambitious EU-US Trade Agreement could boost GDP by 1.1%, grow Irish exports by almost 4%, increase investment by 1.5%, and increase real wages by 1.5%. It estimates a jobs gain of somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 additional export related jobs could be created. The study predicts new opportunities for many Irish industry sectors including pharmaceuticals and chemicals, Agri-food (notably dairy and processed food), insurance and machinery. The findings are backed up in a comprehensive independent report contracted by the EU Commission, carried out by Ecorys Consultancy and published on 13th May 2016. The report estimates that a comprehensive EU-US trade agreement would boost Irish GDP by 1.4 per cent.