EU to seek bilateral trade deals in Asia as part of policy revamp
Forbes
EU to seek bilateral trade deals in Asia as part of policy revamp
4 October 2006
BRUSSELS (AFX) - The European Commission said it will seek bilateral trade deals, particularly with Asian partners, as part of a policy revamp.
Under a new strategy to integrate trade policy into the EU’s competitiveness and economic reform agenda, the commission said it remains committed to the WTO multilateral process and seeks a resumption of the stalled round of negotiations.
But it said it will launch parallel initiatives.
’The commission will set up a new programme of bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with key partners to build on WTO rules by tackling issues which are not ready for multilateral discussion and by preparing the ground for the next level of multilateral liberalisation,’ it said.
’The key economic criteria for new FTAs should be market potential — particularly the emerging markets of Asia,’ it said.
The commission identified China as the single greatest challenge for EU trade policy in the years to come. It plans to set out a comprehensive new strategy on China.
It will also refocus its market access strategy onto non-tariff trade barriers and ask EU industry to prioritise sectors and problems.
It plans to conduct a public consultation with a view to possible reforms of the EU’s antidumping and other trade defence instruments.
’A changing global economy needs a new trade policy,’ EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said.
’An open market is not just a lowered tariff — it is a market in which European companies get a fair deal, with freedom to compete and legal protection when they do,’ Mandelson said.
