Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2000-03-16-Speech-4-009"
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"en.20000316.1.4-009"2
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"Mr President, I should like to talk about a particular issue in order to highlight the risk of its posing a serious problem to the European economy and society.
I hope that this sort of blunder is not repeated and that the business world of small-and medium-sized enterprises and the workers of the European Union are not left to foot the bill yet again.
I refer to the European rule of origin of shoes introduced in the agreement between Mexico and the European Union. There is a standing agreement between the Commission and the shoe industry that the rule of origin should apply, owing to increased competition in the industry at global level.
Unfortunately, the precise opposite has happened in the agreement with Mexico. Another rule of origin is being applied: Mexico’s rule. By definition, this works to the detriment of the European shoe industry, which is required to export to Mexico at a loss.
Consequently, there is an export quota of 865 000 pairs of shoes from Europe to Mexico. In other words, with a population of 90 million Mexicans, we have agreed to export one pair of shoes per 100 inhabitants in Mexico. This is hardly a resounding success. Anything but, in my view.
I should like to express the disappointment of these small and medium-sized enterprises in the European Union shoe industry by saying that this problem cannot be solved by our claiming that there is a derogation in the agreement. This particular derogation from the rule of origin affects some 15 000 small and medium-sized enterprises in Europe and
650 000 employees. I hope we do not have many more of these derogations because they will only compound the problems we already face.
I would like the Commission to guarantee us that we will not see a recurrence of this derogation in the agreement with Mexico and that it will not be taken as a precedent in future agreements.
The Commission ought to realise that if the derogation with Mexico is taken as a precedent, 50% of Europe’s shoe industry will be in danger of being wiped out.
What I would like to know is this: is this what the Commission understands by genuine support for small and medium-sized enterprises, which we call the backbone of the European Union? Is this how we are to combat unemployment?"@en1
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