Relato integral dos debates

Quinta-feira, 29 de Novembro de 2018 - Bruxelas

9.3. OMC: rumo a seguir (A8-0379/2018 - Bernd Lange, Paul Rübig)

A szavazáshoz fűzött szóbeli indokolások

  Jude Kirton-Darling (S&D). – Madam President, the multilateral rules—based system is under threat as never before. It is our collective responsibility to uphold it in these trying times, especially under the attack of the current US President. In a world of raw power politics, neither the EU nor any of its Member States, individually, stands a chance of promoting a progressive future.

The keystone of the global order is the WTO. It is to date the most advanced of all the multilateral institutions. Its dispute settlement mechanism is one of the very few instruments at international level with the power to resolve conflicts peacefully. In the past, we know as a continent that economic conflicts often lead to military conflicts. But the WTO is far from perfect. It’s high time we broadened its scope to make it a real instrument for development, workers and the environment.

So to save the WTO we must make it more efficient and accountable, and that’s why I supported the report today.

  Bogdan Andrzej Zdrojewski (PPE). – Pani Przewodnicząca! Niezwykle ważne jest źródło wczorajszej debaty, jak i również samego sprawozdania. Przypomnę – to porażka, to jednak porażka, która zaczęła się w 2008 roku, czyli w czasie kiedy przyjęto pierwszą rezolucję popierającą konieczność dokonania przeglądu WTO. Dlaczego? Bo utknęły w martwym punkcie.

Dla mnie bardzo istotne jest, że od tego 2008 roku do 2018 nie tyle nic nie zrobiono, ile nie zrobiono zbyt wiele. Przypomnę, że po ostatniej konferencji ministerialnej WTO w Buenos Aires w grudniu dokładnie ubiegłego roku okazało się, że funkcja negocjacyjna organizacji została kompletnie sparaliżowana. Stało się to jeszcze w związku z tym pilniejszym zadaniem i stąd nasza debata. Jeszcze raz podkreślam, że nie można powiedzieć, że w ostatnim okresie 10 lat zrobiono niewiele albo nic. Zrobiono sporo, ale jest to kompletnie niewystarczające dla sprawnego funkcjonowania tej instytucji.

  Rory Palmer (S&D). – Madam President, commercial property values plunging by almost half, house prices down 30%, sterling down by 25%, living standards hit, GDP down 8% on what was forecast – just some of this week’s forecasts on the hits the UK economy would take in the event of a no—deal Brexit.

We heard earlier in this House some advocating a no—deal Brexit and trade purely and only on WTO rules. Those who advocate that position never seem to be able to answer the most obvious question: that if WTO rules are so perfect, why do countries spend so much time and energy to secure FTAs over and above WTO arrangements? Those advocating a hard deal / no—deal Brexit today must answer the question, why do they want to see people across the UK made poorer? Talk of a no—deal Brexit must be dismissed today for what it is, which is dangerous, preposterous nonsense.

  Alex Mayer (S&D). – Madam President, I welcome this report into how we make the WTO more relevant. WTO rules are, for the first time in my memory, being talked about in everyday conversation in Britain. The hard—line Brexiteers tell us a no—deal Brexit is simply about adopting WTO rules. But what would that mean in practice for British businesses that export to Europe? An end to zero tariffs, a big change from today. It would result in a 12% tariff to export the fish that we capture around Suffolk shores and in Luton van parts will be taxed at 10% every time they cross the border between the UK and the EU and a 21% tariff to sell the tomatoes grown in Essex into Europe. Plus, unlike today, there will be quotas limiting the amount that we could sell into the EU and that’s before we even start to think about renegotiating and starting the 124 new trade agreements currently handled through the EU with the rest of the world.

President, it seems to me that our proud exporting nation would be decimated.

  Andrejs Mamikins (S&D). – Madam President, the WTO remains an example of a rules—based multilateral institution that brings a certain degree of order into the house of post—modern states. It is a precious platform for the EU to promote the values of multilateralism. However, it is becoming even more difficult considering the free—riding behaviour of some states, like the USA.

I am glad to see that the report calls for the eradication of poverty and removing barriers to women’s participation in trade. I believe that our task is to make commerce as inclusive as possible. I also welcome the fact that the report calls for more transparency in international trade as a way to increase stability.

My special attention goes to the provisions on developing countries. I believe that both these and the EU, in compliance with WTO principles, should avoid a situation of donor—charity—receiver. To allow our partners to grow we need to treat them as equals and demand the same level of trade compliance from developing countries as from our developed countries.

  Seán Kelly (PPE). – Madam President, I welcome the approval drafted by Mr Lange and Mr Rübig regarding the modernisation of the World Trade Organization and the way in which it operates. I welcome this report, as I believe this change is essential in order to make the WTO more relevant and adaptive to a changing, more globalised world, while strengthening the effectiveness of the organisation itself. I believe this legislation will help to overcome the difficulties and the failure of the Ministerial Conference held in Buenos Aires last December and deliver on some of the issues of the DDA. This legislation, if passed, will address the current gaps in the rule book, which create an uneven playing field in regards to subsidies and state—owned enterprises as well as regulatory barriers to services and investments. This legislation also looks at creating the necessary framework to cope with technological developments, including e-commerce, global value change and SMEs.

A Uachtaráin, is jab maith é, comhghairdeas le Lange agus Rübig.

  Daniel Hannan (ECR). – Madam President, to consider the miracle – the power – of free trade, consider the story of Hong Kong. After the Second World War its GDP was a third of that of the UK. By 1997 it had drawn level; now it’s 30% higher. Based on what? What natural resources does that island have? It has to import its drinking water, its food, its electricity – it is utterly reliant on things it brings in from elsewhere. Its magic was simply to remove all obstacles to trade and not to make it contingent on what any other country did. There was a unilateral removal of tariff and non-tariff barriers that led to this extraordinary flowering of prosperity. Similar thing in Singapore: went from half of our level of wealth in the 1950s to twice what it is today. And Britain outside the customs union as a WTO member will have the opportunity to do something similar to return to what first raised us above the run of nations in the 19th century, which is to remove barriers between businesses and their customers. That’s all you need to do; the magic follows.

  Stanislav Polčák (PPE). – Paní předsedající, já chci souhlasit se svým předřečníkem, že ekonomové se skutečně shodují na tom, že pro obchod je nejdůležitější odstranění všech bariér, nicméně takhle bohužel mezinárodní politika a vztahy mezi státy nefungují.

Důležitou roli skutečně plní tato organizace, která se snaží vnést pořádek do obchodních vztahů a vlastně i řešení obchodních sporů, nicméně v poslední době sledujeme jakousi paralýzu této organizace, minimálně už ve více než 10 letech a ty obchodní spory narůstají. Čína vstoupila do této organizace, nicméně neplní ideje nebo ducha této organizace.

V zásadě stojíme i díky rozporuplným opatřením Trumpovy administrativy na prahu obchodní války, takže je důležité, aby se Evropa ujmula své aktivní role, proto já jsem toto usnesení podpořil, protože ono skutečně počítá se stabilitou, s transparentností v této organizaci, s pravidly pro rozvojové země anebo s pravidly pro nové technologie. Toto všechno je potřeba, Evropa musí být aktivní. Pojďme do toho.