Tommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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37. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation the position regarding CETA; the position regarding TTIP; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42768/17]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The EU–Canada Comprehensive and Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) entered into force provisionally from the 21st September 2017.  This means that Irish companies may now take advantage of the provisions of CETA including the elimination of tariffs on almost all key exports, access to the Canadian procurement market, the easing of regulatory barriers and more transparent rules for market access.  In that regard, CETA covers virtually every aspect of economic activity and will provide new market opportunities in many sectors for Irish firms.  The Agreement will save on duty costs since 98% of all tariffs were eliminated on entry into force.

Irish firms will also benefit from the recognition of product standards and certification, thus saving on ‘double testing’ on both sides of the Atlantic.  Cost savings may be made as a result of customs and trade facilitation provisions, which are aimed at reducing processing times at the border and making movement of goods cheaper, faster, more predictable and efficient.  Irish companies will also be able to bid for Canadian public contracts at the federal and sub-federal level, as limitations to these end under CETA.

In services and investment CETA is the most far reaching agreement the EU has ever concluded.  Almost half of the benefits anticipated from CETA are expected in the services sector.  CETA makes it easier for EU individuals and companies to provide services to Canadian customers and vice versa.  It covers services such as legal services, accountancy, transport and telecoms.

The benefits and opportunities to business in the Agreement will be especially valuable for SMEs, given that trade barriers tend to disproportionately burden smaller firms, which have fewer resources to overcome them than larger firms.

It is important to note, however, that the provisions relating to investment protection are excluded from "provisional" application.  Member States will not be bound by these provisions until they are ratified by all Member States in accordance with their national procedures.  In this regard, I have no immediate plans to ratify the Agreement given the Opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union in the EU-Singapore case and the recent request by Belgium for an opinion from that Court on the compatibility of the Investment Court System with the European Treaties.

In the context of CETA having provisional application, it is important to note that Ireland already has a strong trading relationship with Canada which means many companies will already have trading relationships on which to build, or sister companies who already have key market intelligence on which to develop further trade opportunities.  This is reflected in the €3.2 billion worth of annual trade between both countries.  The value of Irish exports to Canada is worth €2.4 billion whilst the value of Irish imports from Canada is worth €780 million.

Regarding the EU-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Agreement (TTIP), negotiations are on hold in light of current US trade policy developments.