Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2012-06-11-Speech-1-046-000"
| Predicate | Value (sorted: default) |
|---|---|
| rdf:type | |
| dcterms:Date | |
| dcterms:Is Part Of | |
| dcterms:Language | |
| lpv:document identification number |
"en.20120611.18.1-046-000"2
|
| lpv:hasSubsequent | |
| lpv:speaker | |
| lpv:spokenAs | |
| lpv:translated text |
"Mr President, Commissioner, ladies and gentlemen, a free trade agreement – we all agree – can be a boon for the economy and also for the prosperity of the population of both parties to the agreement. However, there can also be serious drawbacks, and there may be sectors – including in Europe, Commissioner – that suffer heavily under agreements of this kind.
That was, and is also, the case today in the free trade agreement that we have concluded with South Korea. This agreement has a pernicious influence on the European automotive industry. The fact that European car makers are inadequately able to sell their vehicles in South Korea has nothing to do with a lack of innovation or a lack of competitiveness. On the contrary, it has everything to do with the doggedly persisting non-tariff barriers to trade in South Korea and the blatant lack of a level playing field. The deterrent in the form of what are known as the safeguard clauses seems clearly not to work in this case, either.
The truth is, Commissioner, that we cannot afford a repeat of a scenario like this when it comes to Japan. Mr Lange pointed out very clearly – and I agree with him 100% – that the Japanese, just like the South Koreans, are extremely proficient in the art of establishing, maintaining and continuing regulations producing non-tariff barriers to trade of this kind. Technical standardisation, in particular, where they are on a completely different wavelength to us and take a much less voluntary approach than we do here in the EU, is of crucial importance in this regard. There are also other non-tariff barriers to trade, such as those of a fiscal nature, a technical environmental nature, and so on.
We do need to make that absolutely crystal clear as part of the scoping exercise before we begin negotiations. I hope you are prepared to promise that. I think we can say that the European automotive industry cannot be the victim of a global deal again – in this case with Tokyo – a deal where there will, of course, be give and take. In the European automotive industry today, we are faced with an actual overcapacity, with potential further restructuring measures and further problems that would arise as a result of this uneven deal with Japan and which we, of course, could overlook today.
In summary, Commissioner, we can only have a future free trade agreement with Japan on condition that we have cast-iron guarantees, cast-iron safeguard clauses, and that there will be a level playing field in the industrial sectors, specifically in respect of the automotive sector. This idea is also set out in the CARS 21 report that the Commission very recently agreed – last week – with the car manufacturers. I propose that we meticulously implement that agreement in this field."@en1
|
| lpv:videoURI |
Named graphs describing this resource:
The resource appears as object in 2 triples