Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent)
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92. To ask the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation her plans to oppose trade talks (details supplied) and promote the Paris Agreement. [9903/19]

Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael)
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The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and enjoy the most integrated economic relationship in the world.  The EU and the US economies together account for about half the entire world GDP and for nearly a third of world trade flows.  The relationship has proved indispensable for the prosperity of both sides of the Atlantic for many years.  Likewise, Ireland and the US have a longstanding bilateral relationship based on broadly similar values and interests that has proved hugely beneficial in many ways for both our countries.  Taking these factors into account, Ireland and the EU remain fully committed to a continued strong partnership with the US as equal partners and to ongoing economic and trade cooperation. 

It is in this context that Commission President Juncker met with US President Trump in July 2018 in Washington to launch a new phase in the relationship between the United States and the European Union.  In the Joint Statement the EU and US agreed to;

- work together toward zero tariffs, zero non-tariff barriers, and zero subsidies (on non-auto industrial goods) and to work to reduce barriers and increase trade in services, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, medical products, as well as soybeans,

- strengthen strategic energy cooperation to potentially increase US imports of (LNG) to diversify the EU’s energy supply,

- launch a close dialogue on standards to ease trade barriers, reduce bureaucratic obstacles, and slash costs, and

- work closely together with like-minded partners to reform the WTO and to address unfair trading practices, including intellectual property theft, forced technology transfer, industrial subsidies, distortions created by state owned enterprises, and overcapacity.

The meeting was in response to a shift in the direction of US trade policy which had seen the US impose tariffs on steel (25%) and aluminium (10%) imports from the EU, and other countries, to the US from 1st June 2018, following the expiry of a temporary exemption.  The US measures were introduced following a "Section 232" investigation by the US Department of Commerce into the effect of imports of steel and aluminium on US national security.  The EU did not accept the basis for the US action and responded through the various mechanisms available to it including the commencement of a case against the US at WTO level, challenging the compatibility of the US action with WTO rules, after initial dialogue with the US Authorities failed to resolve the matter.  Ireland has fully endorsed the EU response and as part of this process I met with US Commerce Secretary Ross and other US actors on 7th May 2018 in Washington to discuss the issues and other related matters. 

On 10th September 2018, EU Trade Commissioner Malmström met U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) Lighthizer to initiate the Executive Working Group (EWG), established to improve trade relations between the US and EU and address each of the topics in the Joint Statement issued by Presidents Juncker and Trump at their July meeting.  The EWG has met a number of times since, to discuss the scope of future formal negotiations, most recently in Washington on 9th January 2019.  

On 18th January 2019 the EU Commission adopted proposals for "Negotiating Directives" - or Mandates - for its trade talks with the United States: one on conformity assessment, (making it easier for companies to prove their products meet technical requirements on both sides of the Atlantic) and one on the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods (excluding agricultural products).  The EU Commission published the draft mandates at the same time as submitting them to the EU Member States.  These mandates will be discussed and agreed by Member States in Council to ensure that we are satisfied that EU - including Irish - interests are fully represented.

At their meeting on 19th February 2019 the European Parliament's Committee on International Trade (INTA) endorsed the launch of formal trade negotiations with the United States.  It is anticipated that a further non-binding plenary vote of the European Parliament will take place on the resolution in March. 

The draft mandates were also discussed at the Informal Trade Ministers Council in Bucharest on 22nd February 2019.  If approved by Member States in Council, the draft mandates should form the basis that will, hopefully, see productive and substantive formal negotiations in these areas commence soon after, which would also see the removal of US steel and aluminium tariffs and the EU rebalancing measures.  Additionally, while these negotiations are proceeding both sides are committed to not introducing new tariff measures and if the US were to so do, the proposed mandates make clear that the EU will suspend the negotiations and consider an appropriate and proportionate response.

Consideration of the draft EU mandates is yet to be finalised.  However, it is important to note that these two political mandates are of a limited scope, covering two distinct areas agreed on for co-operation in the July 2018 Joint Statement.  They do not constitute a comprehensive Free Trade Agreement, which would involve negotiations across a wider range of areas such as agriculture and sustainable development among other areas. 

Ireland is supportive of the EU's intention to commission independent experts to carry out a Sustainability Impact Assessment (SIA) by the end of 2019 to complement the recent economic analysis released by the EU Commission which found that a targeted EU-US agreement eliminating tariffs on industrial goods would increase EU exports to the US by 8% and US exports to the EU by 9% by 2033. As with the economic analysis, the SIA will inform the EU's negotiating position should negotiations ultimately commence on the topics. 

The de-escalation in trade tensions between the US and EU achieved by last July's accord has been of benefit to Irish trade interests and jobs.  Equally, a possible future agreement on conformity assessment as well as the elimination of tariffs for industrial goods, would be a positive development to stimulate growth, create employment and continue to grow our economy. 

The current EU Commission plan is to invite Member States to endorse the Negotiating Directives next month. Ireland will determine our final position, in the context of our desire for open, free trade and investment flows between Ireland and the US in support of thousands of jobs, in light of the terms of the Directives once discussions on them have concluded.