THE GOVERNMENT has warned EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson not to make any further concessions on agriculture in world trade talks next week, writes Jamie Smyth.
Minister for international trade John McGuinness said yesterday Mr Mandelson had "gone way too far in terms of agriculture" and reminded him that the Irish held a veto over any final World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal.
"The veto isn't an issue for today; it is an option that is there. It's probably the elephant in the room that people don't like to discuss or talk about - but it is a fact," he said after meeting EU trade ministers in Brussels to try to agree a common EU position on WTO talks due to begin next week in Geneva.
Mr McGuinness's comments were supported by French trade secretary Anne-Marie Idrac, who chaired the meeting, as her country holds the presidency of the EU. "The European Union has run out of room for manoeuvre on agriculture and cannot go any further," she told journalists.
Ministers from at least 30 countries will meet on Monday to try to agree the basis for a final agreement in the Doha round of world trade talks, which has been going on for seven years. Mr Mandelson says he is now "optimistic" a deal to liberalise world trade in agriculture, industrial products and services by cutting tariffs and trade-distorting subsidies is possible.
But many EU states with large agricultural interests such as France, Ireland and Poland have expressed deep reservations about his negotiating tactics, and fear he could sell out European farmers in order to get a WTO deal.
"The commission has conceded far too much on agriculture and gained insufficient on NAMA [ industrial products]. Other areas like services and trade rules are way behind," said Mr McGuinness, who also blamed Mr Mandelson for contributing to the loss of the Lisbon Treaty referendum.
But Mr McGuinness said he had no "personal" issue with Mr Mandelson, despite personal remarks made by others on how he conducts business. "For me it is not personal, it is strictly business. In my view he has to be a little more careful in how he listens to the arguments put forward," he said.
In his presentation to other ministers, Mr McGuinness said that the current WTO text on agriculture caused "great concern" for Ireland due to the very high tariff cuts proposed in the beef and dairy sectors; the phasing out of export refunds to zero by 2013; the high price paid to obtain sensitive product status for beef, and the loss of a safeguard clause to stem imports.
He said the rapid dismantling of the sugar beet industry had prompted real concern about the beef and diary industries. "They are the cornerstones of business in Ireland and our trade abroad and rural Ireland and the life that it represents," said Mr McGuinness, who will attend the talks in Geneva.
However, he did not rule out supporting a WTO deal based on the current agricultural text if significant moves were made to open developing countries' markets to Irish service and industrial product exports. He said the current texts on reducing import tariffs levied by states such as Brazil and India on industrial products were an insufficient basis for a deal.
Most trade experts believe the basis for a deal must be achieved next week or the US presidential election in November will delay any further progress for at least a year. The commission has warned states like Ireland that failure to agree a deal now could result in EU farmers facing a worse deal in 2010.
