EU Inks FTA w/ Colombia & Peru; EU FTA Talks w/ Vietnam Begin, Talks w/ India Progressing
The European Union signed a free trade agreement with Colombia and Peru, it said. In separate statements, the EU also said that it launched FTA negotiations with Vietnam, and continuing FTA negotiations with India are making progress and could be concluded by the end of 2012.
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EU-Colombia-Peru FTA to Apply Provisionally Upon Ratification
The European Parliament will vote to ratify the EU-Colombia-Peru FTA later this year, while EU country parliaments are expected to adopt the text at a later stage. In the meantime, upon ratification by the European Parliament and the governments of Colombia and Peru, the FTA will be provisionally applied.
Once fully implemented, the Agreement will eliminate tariffs in all industrial and fisheries products, increase market access for agricultural products, improve access to public procurement, services and investment markets, further reduce technical barriers to trade, and establish common disciplines including on intellectual property rights, transparency and competition, the EU said.
There will be noticeable tariff reductions on telecommunications products, among other things, the EU said. The telecom equipment industry alone will save 18 million euros annually, supporting the development of an EU telecommunications services industry in the region, it said. According to the EU, the FTA will consolidate and provide market access for cross-border services and for establishment of key areas of interest to Europe, including telecom services. The FTA also provides for copyright and trademark protections, it said.
EU-Vietnam Talks Begin 3rd Set of EU-ASEAN FTA Negotiations
The EU said the launch of FTA negotiations with Vietnam marks the next step in the EU-Vietnamese relationship. The EU had already signed a Partnership Cooperation Agreement with Vietnam in 2010, it said. The EU said it has already started FTA negotiations with two other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries, Malaysia and Singapore.
With respect to EU-Vietnam FTA negotiations, the EU said both sides are looking for a comprehensive agreement covering tariffs, non-tariff barriers as well as commitments on other trade related aspects, such as procurement, regulatory issues, competition, services, and sustainable development.
EU Hopes to Conclude India FTA Negotiations by End of 2012
Finally, EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma expressed their satisfaction on June 26 that negotiations towards an EU-India Free Trade Agreement are making good progress. Recent talks were positive with both sides engaging constructively to drive the process forward, the EU said. De Gucht and Sharma agreed to hold another ministerial meeting before the end of the year with a view to concluding the negotiations.
EU press releases on EU-Colombia-Peru FTA available here and here, EU-Vietnam FTA negotiations available here, and EU-India negotiations available here.