Ireland to vote against Mercosur trade deal
Ottoline Spearman and Vivienne Clarke
Ireland will vote against the Mercosur trade deal, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste have confirmed.
Micheál Martin announced the decision during his official visit to China, according to the Irish Times.
Speaking in Shanghai, he said the concessions made in the deal to alleviate concerns of Irish farmers were inadequate.
“We have to be confident that the standards that we have set now and the obligations based on Irish and European farmers are not undermined by food production systems that are not as carbon efficient and that don’t have the same stringent standards,” he said.
“But in terms of that basic issue around the obligations and standards for Irish farmers, our sense is that we don’t have confidence that they won’t be undercut. So the Government will be voting no.
“We now have one of the most carbon-efficient food production systems in the world. And we put in a lot of regulations, rightly so, that are very stringent in respect to consumer protection, food safety, carbon efficiency, climate protection measures.”
The Mercosur-EU deal is largest trade deal negotiated by the EU which sees an agreement with four South American Mercosur countries (Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay) for import duties to be phased out on 91 per cent of EU goods. In return, these countries could sell goods to the EU with fewer restrictions.
A crucial vote by EU member states will be taking place on Friday, which, if passed, would still need to be ratified by the European Parliament.
There are growing expectations that the deal will be approved if Italy votes in favour. If so, a blocking minority of European states – which must consist of at least four member states and 35 per cent of the EU population – cannot be assembled.
Meanwhile, Minister of State Michael Healy-Rae - who was staunch in his opposition to the deal - has denied that he threatened to withdraw support for the government over the agreement.
Speaking on RTÉ radio’s Today with David McCullagh show, Mr Healy-Rae thanked the Taoiseach, Tánaiste and the Minister for Agriculture Martin Heydon for not supporting the deal with South America.
He said he had not threatened to “pull the plug” on the government.
“I do not operate that way. My late father, Jackie Healy Ray, when we shake hands with somebody, when we do a deal, we work from within government."
"We don't do threats because that's nonsense. We're serious politicians. We're about the long-term longevity of a government so that we can deliver on all of the different range of issues."
