IBEC advises Government on world trade talks

Employers' body IBEC is calling on the Government not to enter the upcoming World Trade talks intent on defending the farming sector at the expense of others.

The Deputy Director-General of the World Trade Organisation says governments must treat negotiations with urgency, and not get bogged down due to a lack of progress on certain issues.

Roderick Abbott, speaking at a seminar in Dublin, said:"You should defend the policy because that's perfectly reasonable.

"There's a perfectly good European proposal it could be added to, don't be more defensive than is necessary because you are in reform already so there's nothing that is incremental in this that you would need to go really hostile to."