Neale Richmond (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

127. To ask the Minister for Trade, Enterprise and Employment the status of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39729/20]

Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) has provisionally applied since 21st September 2017, meaning that duties on 98% of products (tariff lines) that the EU trades with Canada have been removed. The reduced trade barriers, tariff elimination, simplified customs procedures and more compatible technical requirements all make it easier and cheaper for Irish companies of all sizes to export to Canada and vice versa.

CETA covers virtually every aspect of economic activity and will provide new market opportunities in many sectors for Irish firms. In addition to savings on duty costs, Irish firms should also benefit from the recognition of product standards and certification, thus saving on ‘double testing’ on both sides of the Atlantic. Increased trade facilitation will reduce processing times at the border and make the movement of goods cheaper, faster, more predictable and efficient. Irish companies will also be able to bid for Canadian public procurement contracts, as limitations to these end under CETA. Furthermore, almost half of the benefits anticipated from CETA are expected in the services sector, including financial software, telecoms, digital media, content and gaming, education and e-learning, agritech/engineering, life sciences and digital health as well as consumer retail.

On agriculture, Ireland secured strong protections for our beef industry through restricted quotas for Canadian beef entering the EU, while CETA also provides significant opportunities for the Irish dairy industry.

For SMEs, the benefits and opportunities to business in the agreement are especially valuable given that trade barriers tend to disproportionately burden smaller firms, which have fewer resources to overcome them than larger firms.

For the consumer, CETA has the potential to lower prices and give consumers a wider choice of products and services. At the same time, imports from Canada will still have to satisfy all EU product rules including social and environmental standards.

Bilaterally, business links between Ireland and Canada are deep and extensive. Outside of Europe, the US and China, Canada is our largest indigenous export market. More than 400 Enterprise Ireland clients are doing business in the Canadian market with over 6,000 people in Canada employed by Enterprise Ireland clients. When we compare the last full year of bilateral trade with Canada prior to the provisional application of CETA (2016), against the most recent full year of provisional application (2019), Irish exports of Goods and Services to Canada have grown by approximately 35%.

Finally, Ireland, like many EU Member States, was awaiting the opinion of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a case concerning the compatibility of CETA with EU law prior to considering the commencement of our ratification process. Therefore, CETA could only be provisionally applied by the EU and Canada since September 2017 and only insofar as the trade elements were concerned where the EU Commission has competence under the EU Treaties. The Opinion of the CJEU in this case issued on 30th April 2019 finding that there were no issues regarding the compatibility of the Agreement with EU law and that no changes to the text of CETA were required. On foot of this decision of the court, Government has now agreed to the moving of a Motion in Dáil Éireann seeking the House's approval for Ireland to formally ratify CETA. The Dáil Business Committee will arrange the timing for the taking of the Motion in due course and I look forward to securing the approval of the House for ratification in the near future. Ireland will then be able to notify the EU Council Secretariat of the completion of our ratification procedures as some 14 other Member States have so far done.