Activities of Kader ARIF related to 2011/2115(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on trade and investment barriers PDF (211 KB) DOC (141 KB)
Amendments (16)
Amendment 5 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B
Recital B
B. whereas the EU should continue giving priority to achieving a balanced outcome of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA), which would support developing countries'’ – and particularly the least developed countries’ – integration in the international trading system and contribute to enforcingstablishing fairer and more equitable multilateral trade rules among all its members;
Amendment 6 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital C
Recital C
C. whereas the WTO International Trade Statistics for the period 2000-2009 show a substantial increase in trade exchanges for those regions which have opened up their markets by lifting or significantly reducing barriers to trade; but at the same time a joint ILO-WTO report has shown that during the financial crisis, countries more open to trade experienced more external trade shocks which resulted in significant job losses both in industrialized and developing countries 22; __________________ 22 Joint WTO-ILO report, Globalization and informal jobs in developing countries, 2009.
Amendment 13 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
Fa. whereas Japan’s aerospace policy is skewed in favour of American companies, and this is a major problem which the Commission needs to address;
Amendment 16 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital G a (new)
Recital G a (new)
Ga. whereas the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) ought to be an effective tool for ensuring transparency and combating speculation on commodity markets;
Amendment 23 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Considers that removing or reducing NTBs and other unjustified regulatory obstacles should be the keya regulatory priority of the new EU trade policy under the Europe 2020 Strategy;
Amendment 26 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Calls on the Commission to systematically address the great variety, technical complexity and political sensitivity of NTBs as part of a holistic strategy, including enhanced regulatory dialogue, with respect to all EU's trading partners, particularly with those of strategic importance; considers in particular that the relevant committees of the WTO and the standard-setting agencies of the UN are appropriate fora to discuss these regulatory changes;
Amendment 29 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2a. Calls on the Commission to draw a clear distinction between those NTBs which give rise to unfair distortions of competition and those which reflect legitimate public-policy aims, notably in relation to public health and the protection of the environment; emphasises, for example, that the European laws on GMOs and the health and plant-health related rules affecting agriculture cannot be regarded as unfair NTBs but should, on the contrary, be defended in the international trade arena;
Amendment 37 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls on the Commission to address these widespread and persistent issues in all plurilateral and bilateral trade agreements, especially Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and to ensure that NTBs are given at least as much attention as is currently afforded tariff elimination, particularly in its negotiations with industrialised and emerging economies; emphasises that, in the field of cooperation with developing countries, priority must be accorded to aid for trade and to technical and financial assistance, to help such countries improve their regulatory environment while taking account of their specific needs in terms of developing their internal markets and protecting their embryonic industries and their agricultural structures, which in many cases are vulnerable;
Amendment 38 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4a. Considers that, with regard to raw materials, the Commission should pursue a sustainable, comprehensive and cross- policy strategy, while recognising that export restrictions and export taxes may be seen as important for the support of development objectives, the protection of the environment or the sustainable exploitation of natural resources in poorer developing countries such as LDCs and SIDs;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the European Parliament should focus in future on the manner in which unjustified NTBs have been addressed when assessing trade agreements to ensure access for European exporters and investors, in particular SMEs, to third country markets, while at the same time respecting the need for special, differentiated treatment for developing countries;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)
Paragraph 5 a (new)
5a. Reminds the Commission that European IPR policy towards developing countries should remain within the TRIPS agreement obligations and must fully respect the 2001 Doha Declaration on the TRIPS agreement and Public Health, especially in the field of generic medicines and public health, so as to leave the developing countries policy space to address public interest concerns;
Amendment 43 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 b (new)
Paragraph 5 b (new)
5b. Points out that export taxes are one of the few remaining trade policy tools at the disposal of developing countries with which to pursue development goals; calls on the EU to refrain from attempting to ban the use of export taxes at the WTO and in bilateral trade agreements and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs), as it would limit their policy space to use this tool for value-addition, diversification, infant industry protection, food security, revenue and environmental considerations;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Is of the opinion that, although no direct link can be made at this point in time between specific NTBs and other regulatory hindrances EU companies face when trying to access foreign markets, on the one hand, and actual job losses in the EU Member States on the other hand, it would be advisable for the CommissionConsiders that the Commission should investigate, in consultation with other relevant international organisations, to investigate whether there is a correlation between specific NTBs and actualin the EUs and in third countries and job creation and jobs losses in the EU;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Points out that the Commission should duly explore the possibility of developing and establishing an early warning mechanism to detect unjustified NTBs and strengthen its existing analytical tools for a qualitative evaluation thereof;
Amendment 54 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9a. Believes that one of the keys to lowering NTBs to trade and investment is reform of the Government Procurement Agreement in the WTO, with due regard to the multifunctional nature of procurement policies; calls on the major emerging economies to participate in this process and to sign and ratify the future agreement without delay;
Amendment 58 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Encourages EU businesses and exporters to make use of the existing channels, including the TBR complaints or the complaints register in the Market Access Database, to report material injuries resulting from all kinds of unjustified trade barriers;