Brussels, 21 November 2024
Future of the EU’s trade policy
The Council discussed the future of the EU’s trade policy, which is a priority for the Hungarian presidency.
The discussion was a timely contribution setting out the Council’s expectations and guiding the Commission’s work for the future.
Ministers paid particular attention to the ongoing negotiations, including with Australia, Indonesia, India, Mexico, Mercosur, Philippines, Thailand and underlined that trade is a central pillar of the EU’s growth and competitiveness and can increase the resilience of supply chains.
The Commission, represented by Valdis Dombrovskis, vice president and commissioner for Trade, briefed ministers about the state of play in the main trade and investment negotiations.
- EU trade policy (background information)
- Work of the Council and the European Council in the area of trade
Trade relations with the US
Ministers discussed the state of play and prospects for our trade relations with the US, in light of the outcome of the recent US elections.
Ministers indicated that the transatlantic relationship remains of crucial importance – in trade terms but also in broader economic and geostrategic terms. Ministers have signaled the importance they attach to unity and coordination in charting relations with the new US administration. The EU will work with the new US administration to safeguard and further strengthen this relationship through open dialogue and a forward-looking agenda for cooperation.
The transatlantic relationship is a cornerstone of Europe’s economic and strategic stability. Strengthening trade and connectivity between the EU and the US is essential for enhancing competitiveness and ensuring supply chain security. We are committed to building a pragmatic and mutually beneficial partnership with the new US administration to achieve concrete results that serve our shared interests.
Péter Szijjártó, Hungarian minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade
The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade and investment relationship and enjoy the most integrated economic relationship in the world. Transatlantic trade (goods and services) reached an all-time high of €1,538 trillion in 2023.
World Trade Organization (WTO) reform
Over lunch, ministers had the opportunity to discuss the future prospects of the WTO reform and the key areas under negotiation. Vice-president and commissioner for trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, focused on some of the EU’s most immediate priorities regarding the WTO reform and the long-term prospects for the multilateral trading system.
Any other business
Sweden called on the Commission to propose additional increased import duties on Russian and Belarusian products.
Preparatory documents
Outcome documents
Source – EU Council
Remarks by Executive Vice-President Dombrovskis at the Foreign Affairs Council (Trade) press conference
Brussels, 21 November 2024
Thank you, Minister, honourable media representatives.
Let me begin with the discussion we had on trade negotiations.
As this marks my last FAC Trade as Trade Commissioner, I took the opportunity to provide an overview of the various bilateral trade negotiations and their state of play. The EU already has the largest network of FTAs in the world, and we continue to expand this network.
We are currently negotiating with Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, India, Mercosur, and Mexico. Our scoping exercise with Malaysia is ongoing, and the scoping exercise for an FTA with the UAE will start in December.
We are also looking to open the existing Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and Kenya to other East African Community countries in the future.
We have been working on other forms of agreement, outside of traditional FTAs, such as Digital Trade Agreements and Sustainable Investment Facilitation Agreements, or SIFAs.
Following the first ever SIFA with Angola in 2023, discussions with other potential SIFAs are now underway with Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Cameroon, and Nigeria.
On digital trade agreements, we have recently concluded our agreement with Singapore and our negotiations with South Korea are on track and we hope to conclude in early 2025.
We also discussed trade relations with the US.
The United States continues to be our strategic ally and biggest economic and trading partner. Over the past four years, we have achieved some notable results, including parking some of our existing disputes like the US Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium and Airbus-Boeing.
We’ve been working together closely in the Trade and Technology Council (TTC) and increased our cooperation on critical raw materials, supply chain resilience, export controls, investment screening, and the role of trade in accelerating the green agenda.
There is an overall agreement among Ministers, that we must strive to work proactively with the new US Administration on transatlantic trade and investment relations, which support millions of jobs and billions in trade and investment on both sides of the Atlantic.
We also had a discussion on increasing tariffs on imports of Russian and Belarussian products.
This week marks 1000 days of Russian ongoing brutal aggression against Ukraine.
The EU together with our likeminded partners have done a lot in response to this military aggression – to support Ukraine as long as it takes and put political and economic pressure on aggressor. And our efforts will continue.
I welcome that the Member States are ready to put further pressure on Russia (as per October Council Conclusions). The Commission will leave no stone unturned in this effort. In this context I also welcome the request by some Member States to impose tariffs on the broadest possible range of Russian and Belarussian imports.
The Commission is currently working on a proposal on the basis of the mandate of the European Council of 17 October.
I would also like to recall that trade policy has played the leading role in Europe’s support to Ukraine since the start of Russia’s brutal aggression contributing to sanctions against Russia and invigorating Ukraine’s economy by removing tariffs on Ukrainian exports to the EU.
Our last topic of discussion was WTO reform.
During this mandate, the EU has continued to be a champion of preserving and advancing the WTO and rules-based international trade, including during the WTO Ministerial Conferences.
The EU will continue to play a leading role in Geneva and work towards meaningful results at the next Ministerial Conference in 2026.
Economically and strategically, we have the most at stake in ensuring the continued function of rules-based trade embodied by the WTO.
Finally, I’d like to thank Ministers for our constructive cooperation over the past years, which has delivered many important achievements during this mandate.
We faced unprecedented challenges during this mandate, with a pandemic, Russian brutal war in Ukraine, disrupted supply chains, protectionism and unfair trade all threatening the EU economy.
Nevertheless, the consistent implementation of our open, sustainable and assertive trade strategy has allowed us to address those challenges, while also supporting EU’s green and digital transition, resilience, and competitiveness.
Let’s remember that open and rules-based trade support over 30 million European jobs.
Moreover, thanks to the work of the new Chief Trade Enforcement Officer, we opened up new export opportunities for EU companies and farmers by breaking down 140 trade barriers in the last 5 years.
We put sustainability at the heart of trade policy, integrating it into our trade deals and promoting it at the WTO.
We have assertively dealt with unfair trade practices, introducing new tools such as the Anti-Coercion Instrument and the Foreign Subsidies Instrument, and we have boosted our use of trade defence instruments, that currently protect around 630,000 jobs in the EU.
We have also reviewed our strategy towards China to de-risk our relationship with a more assertive approach, but without decoupling our economies.
Trade policy has played the leading role in Europe’s support to Ukraine contributing to sanctions against Russia and invigorating Ukraine’s economy through tariff-free access to the EU, but also for medium term actions to bring Ukraine closer to the EU Single market.
And trade will remain as vital as it used to be, to support the core objectives of competitiveness, security, and sustainability of the von der Leyen II Commission.
I wish my successor the very best of luck in this regard.
Thank you very much!
Source – EU Commission