Charlie McConalogue (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
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79. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the status of the latest Mercosur talks at EU level; and the steps he is taking to protect Irish beef farmers by ensuring that beef does not form part of a final Mercosur deal. [41683/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I am concerned at recent reports that the Commission intends making an opening offer in respect of the Mercosur Freet Trade Agreement that includes a Tariff Rate Quota for beef.

I and my Department have been very active in highlighting the potentially very damaging impact of a Mercosur deal on the European beef sector.

At political level, I have raised the issue with Member State colleagues and with Commissioners Hogan and Malmström, and within the Council of Agriculture Ministers as recently as yesterday.

These efforts have been reinforced at official level through similar contacts with Member States and the Commission, including through the Special Committee on Agriculture and the Trade Policy Committee, where Ireland recently led a coalition of like minded member states in opposition to the making of an offer on beef at this time.

I also continue to monitor the situation closely in co-operation with my Government colleagues, particularly the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Taoiseach.

While the Commission responded to the strong lobbying by Ireland and others by excluding a beef Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) from the offers exchanged with Mercosur on 11 May 2016, there is a need for continued vigilance in relation to the conduct of these trade negotiations. We are also insisting that the timing and content of any offer is handled appropriately, and in a manner that safeguards the interests of the Irish and European beef sector in particular.

Any further consideration of the matter must also take into account the findings of the Commission’s recent cumulative impact assessment, and the potentially very damaging impact of Brexit on an already delicately balanced EU beef market .

I can assure the Deputy that I will continue to engage closely with other Member States and the Commission to ensure that the  interests of the EU beef sector are protected in any trade deal with Mercosur countries.