Eoin Ó Broin (Dublin Mid West, Sinn Fein)
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85. To ask the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment whether the Government has given formal notification to the European Commission regarding Ireland's opposition to the EU-Mercosur trade agreement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43459/24]

Peter Burke (Longford-Westmeath, Fine Gael)
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The EU-Mercosur Agreement is designed to cement the close political and economic relations between the EU and Mercosur countries and represents a commitment to rules-based international trade. Since formal negotiations concluded in 2019, the global trade policy landscape has changed considerably. The rise in trade nationalism, the economic impacts of COVID-19, the war in Ukraine and the accompanying impacts on global supply chains have demonstrated the importance of diversifying our import and export markets by securing robust and comprehensive trade deals with global partners. The EU-Mercosur Agreement, if ratified, will support that objective.

The Government remains committed to free, fair and open trade while protecting Ireland’s interests in international trade deals. Furthermore, Ireland and other EU Member States have raised concerns regarding the strength of the trade and sustainability commitments in the Agreement. As a response to those concerns, the European Commission commenced a process with the Mercosur side on a draft interpretative legal instrument addressing sustainability commitments. This interpretative text will have the same legal status as the existing text within the Agreement itself.

Commission negotiators are currently engaging with their Mercosur counterparts on the text of the new instrument and to resolve the remaining differences between the sides. I wish to assure the Deputy that my officials and I continue to closely monitor developments regarding the instrument and discuss it at EU level. It remains the Government’s position that it will consider the overall EU-Mercosur agreement once the negotiations on the additional legal instrument have concluded.