WTO Talks Collapse - Farming | farming news | cattle prices | ifa

WTO Talks Collapse

Written by Cian MacSweeny
Wednesday, 30 July 2008
At the meeting of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council in Geneva, the Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mary Coughlan TD, gave the Government's reaction to the breaking down of the WTO talks in Geneva following the longest ever WTO Ministerial meeting. Mary Coughlan said that she and the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Brendan Smith TD, Minister for Trade and Commerce, John McGuinness TD and Minister for Overseas Development, Peter Power TD had gone to Geneva with the intention of securing a comprehensive, ambitious and balanced trade deal. She said that they had used every possible opportunity they could, whether through meetings of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council or bilaterally with various countries, including the French Presidency of the EU as well as the EU Commission, to make Ireland's interests known. The Tánaiste said she was disappointed that a new deal could not have been struck but acknowledged that the negotiations encompassed a very complex process covering a wide range of areas, with a strong emphasis this past week on agriculture and industrial goods, and involving over 150 countries each with varying interests. The IFA President Padraig Walshe reacted to the collapse of the talks by saying that the Irish have President Sarkozy and the French Government to thank for 'defending European Agriculture.' The IFA president said that he wanted to dispel the notion that the country had missed out on an opportunity as a result of the breaking down of the talks. He continued saying that Ireland had in fact been spared from a damaging agreement that offered no benefits for the industrial or services sectors, and would have cost €4bn in losses in the agriculture and food industries. Minister for Agriculture Brendan Smith said that throughout the long series of meetings, he had repeatedly expressed the Government's strong concerns about the agriculture proposals and, in particular, the possible impact of the proposals on the Irish beef sector. Minister McGuinness said that a deal would have offered very positive opportunities for Ireland arising from progress in the services area, which potentially could have injected real gains into the Irish economy and provided benefits to Irish service providers due to greater access to markets, particularly in emerging economies in such sectors as software, financial and other business sectors. The goal of the Ministers is clear, to ensure that Ireland plays a central role, along with a number of like-minded countries, in protecting the interests of European agriculture.

[ Back ]