Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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444. To ask the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine the outcome of recent discussions he has had with the EU agriculture and trade Commissioners regarding the need to protect the beef sector in negotiations regarding a Mercosur trade deal; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49043/17]

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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I and my officials have been very active in highlighting the potentially very damaging impact of a Mercosur deal on the European agriculture sector, and on the beef sector in particular. We continue to monitor the situation closely and respond as appropriate to developments in order to defend the interests of Irish farmers, working in close co-operation with my Government colleagues, particularly the Táinaiste and Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation, and the Taoiseach. Indeed, the Taoiseach raised the matter in the course of recent meetings with French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.

At political level, I have continuously raised the issue with my Member State colleagues and with Commissioners Hogan and Malmström, both within the Council of Agriculture Ministers and in written form. These efforts have been reinforced at official level through similar contacts with Member States and the Commission, particularly through the Special Committee on Agriculture and the Trade Policy Committee.

Most recently, Ireland made the latest in a series of very strong interventions on this matter at the Trade Policy Committee in Brussels on 27 October, and I raised the matter at the Council of Agriculture Ministers in Luxembourg in October and again in Brussels on 6 November. I have also worked very closely with a number of other Member States, most notably France, including in the production of a joint paper that was submitted to the European Commission on 26 September outlining our shared concerns. And I wrote to Commissioner Malmström in early October, reiterating my concerns in relation to the tabling of a tariff rate quota (TRQ) offer for beef.

I was deeply disappointed that the Commission decided to submit a beef TRQ offer during the October round of negotiations with the Mercosur bloc, as I believe that this could not be coming at a worse time for the EU beef sector. However, it must be noted that no agreement on a Mercosur deal has been finalised at this point.

I believe there is a need for continued vigilance in relation to the conduct of these trade negotiations, and I will continue to insist that they are handled appropriately, and in a manner that safeguards the interests of the Irish and European beef sector. In this regard I believe full account must be taken of the findings of the Commission’s own assessment of the cumulative impact of trade deals on the agri food sector, and the potentially very damaging impact of Brexit on an already delicately balanced EU beef market. Against this background I will continue to build alliances with other Member states and to defend the interests of the Irish and EU beef sectors.