EU TRADE commissioner Peter Mandelson has rejected claims by Irish farmers that he is preparing to sell out agriculture by agreeing to an unfair World Trade Organisation (WTO) deal.
He also told Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan yesterday that a deal in the Doha round of world trade talks had clear benefits for the Irish and European economy.
However, speaking after her meeting with the commissioner in Brussels, Ms Coughlan said she had reaffirmed her "deep concern" about aspects of the current world trade talks.
The Minister added: "I made it clear that I felt we must not allow ourselves to be bounced into a bad deal now merely to fit in with the US electoral timetable."
In his statement Mr Mandelson said: "Ireland's economy is dominated by industrial goods and services and Ireland would benefit from a successful and balanced Doha outcome along with the rest of Europe.
"We will continue to reject extreme agriculture demands from some of our trading partners in the Doha round . . . There is no question of abandoning European or Irish farming in the course of the negotiations," he added.
Mr Mandelson is the EU's chief negotiator on the Doha round of world trade talks, which seek to liberalise global trade in a number of areas including agriculture, industrial products and services. The talks have reached a critical phase, with most of Europe's trading partners such as Brazil, India and the US demanding major cuts in agricultural tariffs to enable their own farmers to export their products to the EU.
In return, the EU's trade partners would be expected to reduce import tariffs on industrial products and services exported by EU companies abroad.
The commission disputes claims by Irish farm organisations that it is preparing to cut tariffs on imported beef from outside the EU by 70 per cent in a WTO deal. It claims that beef will be treated as a sensitive product under the draft deal being negotiated by the commission, which would mean a tariff reduction of just 23 per cent.
It also says that it will stick within the negotiating mandate agreed by EU foreign ministers, which means that any WTO agreement should be consistent with the current reform of the Common Agricultural Policy.
But the Government is concerned Mr Mandelson is offering to cut EU support for the farm sector too deeply in an effort to secure a wider WTO deal.
A statement from the Department of Agriculture last night said the Minister had outlined in detail the dramatic impact of hugely increased imports of beef and the concentration of these imports on high-value cuts of meat. She called on the commissioner to ensure a meaningful level of protection for the Irish industry. She also said that Irish concerns were not confined to the beef sector and underscored to the commissioner the difficulties some of the proposals would generate for Irish dairy, pigmeat and sheepmeat sectors also.
Mr Mandelson has become a focus of anti-EU sentiment among farmers in recent weeks, with many threatening to vote against the Lisbon Treaty because of his handling of the WTO talks. At the recent demonstration by 10,000 farmers when commission president Jose Manuel Barroso visited Dublin, farmers held banners urging the Government to: "Stop Mandelson's WTO sell-out."
Last night the IFA dismissed Mr Mandelson's comments. "No amount of media spinning by Mandelson could hide the fact that the consequences for Ireland would see 50,000 farmers put out of business, 50,000 jobs in the food industry and services would be lost and the total cost to the economy would be €4 billion, with a €2 billion loss in export earnings," it said.