Bilaterals & RTAs

Bilateral and Regional Trade Agreements

La nouvelle publication du CNCD - Les accords commerciaux bilatéraux et régionaux : moteur de l'intégration régionale ou nouveau cheval de troie du libre-échange ?  (en français)

Dans la Collection Les Cahiers de la coopération internationale, n°8, Mai 2008

 

In December 2006, the European Commission presented to the EU Member States its recommendations for starting free trade negotiations with five new countries and regions: India, South Korea and the ASEAN countries (free trade agreements - FTAs), and Central America and the Andean Community (Association Agreements - AAs).

After four months of discussions among EU Member States, the Ministers, meeting in the General Affairs and External Relations Council (GAERC) on 23-24 April 2007, have delivered the official mandates to the European Commission to start these negotiations. Such a decision puts an end to the so-called EU 'moratorium' on free trade agreements since the launch of the Doha Round at the WTO.

Ahead of the GAERC meeting, a coalition of more than 90 civil society groups and networks across Europe and in the countries parties to these negotiations produced an 'open letter' calling the EU ministers to refuse the bold free trade approach promoted by the European Commission and to initiate instead a transparent and participatory debate among a full range of stakeholders within and outside Europe to establish what type of trade policy is most appropriate for the EU.

The letter is available in English y en castellano.

Today, European civil society groups and social movements are mobilising on European FTAs and on EU's 'Global Europe' agenda, together with their counterparts in the negotiating countries. Below is a list of important joint bi-regional statements that have been produced on the ongoing FTA negotiations.

EPAs

The EU's proposals for European Partnership Agreements (EPAs) include trade liberalisation demands that go far beyond anything currently discussed within the WTO, hence leading to deep and dramatic market opening by ACP countries within a very short time-period, possibly within 10 to 15 years. In addition, the EU is pushing for trade negotiations in areas that ACP countries have long opposed in the WTO (eg: the so-called 'Singapore issues'). This is undercutting ACP countries' negotiating positions at the WTO and will deepen poverty in ACP countries. The EU must drop its demand for reciprocal trade liberalisation, exclude the Singapore issues and urgently honour its commitment to provide ACP countries with viable non-reciprocal alternatives to EPAs, in parallel to EPA negotiations in 2007.



For more information about EPAs visit: www.stopepa.org and www.bilaterals.org


Recent Joint Statements:

• Stop unfair trade deals between Europe and ACP countries, Letter from European CSOs addressed to the European trade and development ministers in the perspective of the GAERC, 26-27 May 2008
• Stop EPAs! - Global Civil Society Statement, 27 September 2007
  > English
  > Français

EU-Korea

• Declaration of European and Korean Social Movements and Civil Society Organisations on the First EU-Korea FTA Round, 19 September 2007

EU-CAN

• No to a New FTA with the EU! - Declaration of Andean and European Social Movements on the EU-CAN negotiations, September 2007
  > Castellano
  > English
  > Français