The Irish Whiskey Association, Dairy Industry Ireland and the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland said it will today, 14 June, make a joint presentation to the Seanad Brexit Committee to highlight the challenges faced by Irish whiskey and dairy products with inputs from Northern Ireland in accessing the benefits of EU free trade agreements (FTAs) following Brexit.
The three associations will be represented at the Committee meeting by: William Lavelle, head of the Irish Whiskey Association; Conor Mulvihill, director of Dairy Industry Ireland and Dr. Mike Johnston, chief executive of the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland.
New Rules Of Origin
The Irish whiskey and dairy sectors have proposed that the European Commission 'should consider new rules of origin, which protect cross-border supply chains on the island of Ireland, in all future EU FTA negotiations beginning with the current Australia FTA'.
However, the group noted that it has to date received 'disappointing responses have been received from the European Commission'.
In the case of current EU-Australia FTA negotiations, the Commission has proposed the same rules of origin for whiskey and dairy products that have been proposed for the past 40 years and do not take account of Brexit and the realities of the Irish all-island economy, the group said.
The Commission has stated that it does not intend to review any existing EU trade agreement on the back of Brexit.
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