ALTHOUGH the White Paper, launched at the end of March, has come in for searching appraisal from two former Ministers for Foreign Affairs, at least we now have a document which confronts some of the complex issues of Foreign Policy.
It was a former French politician, I believe, who pointed out that, while people have friendships, nations have interests. If this is the case, the White Paper may be declared long on aspiration but short on interests.
What is disappointing in the document is the rather cursory treatment of the trade question. In a 348 page review, the chapter on trade and international economic co operation runs to a total of 12 pages. This may reflect interdepartmental sensitivities rather than its actual importance in the minds of the authors.
The relevant chapter acknowledges the primacy of the Minister for Tourism and Trade, Mr Kenny, in the trade policy area while making the case that foreign policy must take full account of the "vital importance" of trade and investment to the prosperity of the Irish people".
Mr Kenny, addressed the Foreign Affairs seminar which formed part of the preparation of the foreign policy document.
The point that our trade policy, both within and outside the European Community, is not handled by the European Commission.
What our trade policy actually is remains something of a mystery for the very good reason that it has never been articulated.
The White Paper states that we in Ireland have the heaviest dependence on exports within the European Union - 70 per cent of the goods we produce and two out of three jobs in manufacturing depends on exports.
Despite this, however, and the substantial amount we commit each year to trade promotion, we are not well organised in respect of foreign trade. As noted already, we have no statement of policy.
The foreign earnings committee, which meets under the chairmanship of the Minister for Tourism and Trade, does not have any private sector participants - it consists of representatives of Government departments, semi state agencies and certain Irish embassies. Are these exporters really necessary?)
Transport, a vital element in international trade, falls within the responsibility of three departments - Marine, Transport Energy and Communications and Environment. The increase in recent years in unitised multimodal traffic requires a co ordinated approach to transport - the trader is not interested in different transport modes but in service and costs. The strategic focus should come from the trade perspective.
The essential services on which our export trade depends - transport and communications - are largely within the hands of the State monopolies and are more expensive than those available to our competition. The State's export credit insurance scheme is virtually non existent. There are questions of priority markets to be looked at, including the position of the United Kingdom.
There are sectors which should be considered for development - should employment intensive industry, including services exports, have more State support and encouragement than those more dependent on capital investment? What will, happen in relation to funds for trade promotion when the present Structural Funds run out?
There are many important issues which need to be addressed. A White Paper - or even a Green Paper - on trade is something the Minister ought to consider.
