Comment: As Minister with responsibility for trade matters I believe the recent agreement reached at the World Trade Organisation in Geneva is good for Ireland, Europe and the World's developing and least developed countries.
It enables us to continue to work towards the successful conclusion of the negotiations under the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), involving issues such as industrial tariffs, agriculture supports and protection, further liberalisation of trade in the services sector, as well as trade facilitation.
It will provide the basis for further reductions in trade-distorting supports and improve market access, which will assist developing countries and, particularly, the least developed countries to improve their export potential, allowing their economies to grow and achieve further reductions in poverty.
Further liberalisation of trade and successful conclusion of the DDA could result in benefits such as those which have happened as a result of previous liberalisation under the Uruguay round.
Most developing countries would benefit from a broader market access package of trade liberalisation. Indications from the WTO suggest that if tariffs were to be eliminated completely, the range of estimated economic benefits is $80-$500 billion (€64.9-€405.6 billion), with an estimated 40-60 per cent of these benefits going to developing countries.
For Ireland, further liberalisation will greatly benefit our trade performance. In 1994 at the end of the previous round of negotiations (Uruguay round) our exports were worth almost €29 billion per year. In the nine years since then, this has almost trebled to over €82 billion in 2003.
The July agreement copperfastens the benefits to Irish farmers of the recently negotiated reform of the CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) and the Minister for Agriculture's decision to fully decouple direct payments.
It also protects the essential interests of Irish agriculture in the EU domestic market.
While the major focus was on agriculture, there were also negotiations regarding other sectors, such as trade in industrial goods (which accounts for over 90 per cent of world trade), trade in services, development issues and the cotton sector.
In relation to industrial goods, there was agreement on guidelines to cut tariffs (import duties). A decrease in tariffs of around 50 per cent is estimated to increase trade by around €200 billion.
Industrial products account for around 70 per cent of developing countries' trade in goods and there were special rules agreed for developing countries giving them more time to make the agreed cuts, and allowing them to make lower cuts than richer countries.
There was also agreement in relation to dealing with other barriers to trade, the so-called non-tariff barriers (for example, administrative regulations, discriminatory technical standards and labelling requirements) which are more onerous on imports.
As a small open economy which is highly dependant on exports, the cutting of 'red-tape' through simplifying importing and exporting rules will greatly facilitate trade.
A recent Forfás report indicated that Irish-owned companies, and particularly SME's, are negatively affected in non-EU markets because of customs-related red tape. Studies also show that halving the cost of customs procedures could lead to savings of up to €300 billion in world trade.
It is for this reason that we very much welcome the decision to commence negotiations on trade facilitation.
We can also look forward to greater efforts to further liberalise global trade in the services sector, which in Ireland accounts for over 70 per cent of total Irish employment and is growing in importance.
We have worked hard to reach agreement among the EU states, as well as trying to ensure that the proposals were suited to the needs of developing and least-developed countries. During the recent Irish presidency of the EU, there was a large amount of work undertaken at official and ministerial level in relation to the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), which all fed into the recent agreement.
Ireland's priority in these negotiations has been, and continues to be, to see the process of trade liberalisation continue in a fair and balanced way and to support the strengthening of the World Trade Organisation in its provision of a stable and consistent framework for the regulation of world trade.
Central to our approach, and that of the European Union, is a commitment to respond positively in the negotiations to the concerns and ambitions of the developing world. This is an essential part of the DDA.
Negotiators will recommence their work with renewed vigour after the summer break with the guidance which they have now received. I believe that the agreement reached in Geneva can provide the basis for the successful conclusion of the DDA negotiations.
Michael Ahern TD is Minister of State for Trade and Commerce at the Department of Enterprise and Employment.
