This is a report from Farmers Guardian:

FARMERS in the UK could boost their exports to South Korea after the EU ratified a trade deal, expected to double trade over the next 20 years.

The deal will eliminate 99 per cent of import tarriffs on imported goods and will see a boost in trade of manufactured goods and agricultural products, according to the European Parliament.

It will also see the removal of a 20 per cent import tarriff on whisky into South Korea, leading to hopes of a boost in whisky sales, & therefore increased demand for malting barley.

The parliament backed the agreement by 465 votes to 128, with 19 abstentions.

After the vote, Robert Sturdy, MEP, European Conservatives and Reformists group’s trade spokesman in the parliament, said: “This is a monumental deal for the EU and for Korea. Not just for the deal itself, but also as it is the first – and definitely not the last – of its kind.

“The EU is sending a clear signal to the world that we are open for international trade, particularly with emerging economies. I hope that the message will go forward to other countries, like India, and build momentum towards other bilateral trade deals.

“We should not give up on a multilateral trade deal through the WTO; but in the meantime we should seek as much trade liberalisation as possible bilaterally.

“In this time of economic difficulty we should never lose sight of the fact that open trade leads to cheaper goods, more and better jobs, and greater competitiveness. More trade is the ultimate answer to our problems and this deal will play an important part in our recovery.”

It was intended to present the facts regarding these vital talks and highlight the costs and benefits, as well as explaining what this this much needed agreement will mean for the future role of bilateral FTAs.

Robert, Vice-Chair of the INTA Committee, and Rapporteur on the EU-Korea FTA, was joined on the panel by chair, Roderick Abbott, former Deputy Director General of DG Trade and the WTO; Fredrik Erixon, Director of ECIPE (European Centre for International; and Political Economy); and Hosuk Lee-Makiyama, Director, ECIPE.

Robert said he was delighted that the frank discuss resulted in an improved understanding about the complex issues it involved. There were 100 attendees delegates ranging from industry stakeholder representing cars, chemical, legal firms, and the spirits industry, as well as academics, Ambassadors representing countries from around the world, World Bank, agricultural associations, SME associations, press, consultancies, MEPs and EP staff.
 
Robert said: “Trade is at the heart of the EU and the world economies. With global trends indicating a shift from the Atlantic to the Pacific, the EU must change its trade policy to account for this new, more connected world, capitilising on all the opportunities Asia’s rise has to offer. It is no coincidence that those EU countries which export the most are the most competitive and are recovering quickest from the financial crisis. Europe’s new approach to bilateral deals, complementary to the Doha Round, will drive Europe’s recovering to strengthen and to grow.”

Pic courtesy of David Plas.

Strasbourg, 17th February 2011 — A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) passed by Euro-MPs today, steered through the parliament by Robert Sturdy MEP, will bring untold benefits to industries across the EU economy and to consumers.

The FTA will see Korean tariffs cut by €850 million immediately when the deal comes into effect in July 2011, rising to €1.6 billion over five years. It will bring a saving of €40 million for EU spirits producers, and almost completely liberalise trade in agricultural products into Korea, saving EU agricultural exporters €380 million. Chemical exporters will save €175 million in duties, EU exporters of machineries would save €450 million, whilst the elimination of most duties on the textiles and clothing sector will amount to savings of €60 million. EU pharmaceutical and medical devices exporters benefit from both strengthened transparency in pricing decisions, and duty elimination- saving around €50 million in duties alone.

The services sector (inducing financial services, telecoms and environmental services) could expect to see a 70% rise in trade volume. Non-tariff barriers to trade will be broken down, and the FTA includes specific provisions on electronics, motor vehicles and vehicle parts.

Under the Lisbon Treaty, all international trade deals must be granted assent by the parliament. The deal also includes a safeguard clause which would enable the EU to reintroduce Most Favoured Nation (MFN) status to areas where it is felt liberalisation was causing serious injury to EU industry.

The parliament backed the agreement by 465 votes to 128, with 19 abstentions.

After the vote, Mr Sturdy, who is the European Conservatives and Reformists group’s trade spokesman in the parliament, said:

“This is a monumental deal for the EU and for Korea. Not just for the deal itself, but also as it is the first - and definitely not the last - of its kind.

“The EU is sending a clear signal to the world that we are open for international trade, particularly with emerging economies. I hope that the message will go forward to other countries, like India, and build momentum towards other bilateral trade deals.

“We should not give up on a multilateral trade deal through the WTO; but in the meantime we should seek as much trade liberalisation as possible bilaterally.

“In this time of economic difficulty we should never lose sight of the fact that open trade leads to cheaper goods, more and better jobs, and greater competitiveness. More trade is the ultimate answer to our problems and this deal will play an important part in our recovery.”

“With the safeguard clause built in, this deal is very good news for European industry. We have opened our markets to cheaper products that will benefit consumers and Korea has opened its markets to our exporters who will benefit from significant extra demand.”

PARIS — Sealing and oilsands, two issues that have darkened Canada’s image in some sectors of European society, could affect ratification of the proposed Canada-European Union free trade agreement, suggests a report from the House of Commons parliamentary committee on trade.

The report, based on a fact-finding mission to Europe in November, recommends that the Canadian government and Parliament step up efforts to lobby the 736-seat legislature that now has veto power over EU trade agreements.

The MPs heard complaints on matters that had nothing to do with the proposed Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), such as Canada’s seal hunt and the imposition of visa requirements on citizens visiting Canada from a small number of EU countries.

“The committee heard that Canada must develop a better communications strategy on sensitive issues like the seal hunt and the visa requirement for nationals of certain European countries,” the all-party committee said in the report tabled Wednesday.

“Although these irritants are not part of the CETA negotiating agenda, they could affect ratification of any future agreement.”

The European Parliament, which holds sessions in Brussels, Belgium and Strasbourg, France, gained veto powers over trade deals in the Lisbon Treaty that took effect in 2009.

Canada is hoping to announce later this year an agreement-in-principle that would slash tariff and non-tariff barriers that affect trade and investment.

Some members of the European parliament (MEPs) who met with the Canadian committee in Strasbourg “expressed the hope that the CETA would encourage responsible extraction and use of these raw materials, and said that both parties should be required to guarantee a high level of environmental protection,” the report noted.

“Other European parliamentarians said they are confident that Canada will do just that, considering the evolution in extraction methods, which are today more efficient and more respectful of the environment than in the past.”

A separate opinion by New Democrat MP Peter Julian said European parliamentarians feared that CETA would lead to increased oilsands production and would therefore “worsen its devastating impact on the environment.”

Robert Sturdy, a veteran British Conservative MEP and vice-chairman of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade, said Thursday that Canada has been the target of environmentalists, animal rights activists and their parliamentary allies since he was elected in 1994.

First it was clear-cut logging and animal trapping, then it was the seal hunt before the European Parliament banned seal product imports in 2009, and now it’s Alberta’s so-called “dirty” oilsands sector, he said.

“Whether it will stop the vote, I certainly hope it doesn’t, but we don’t know yet, until we start with an agreement and start discussing it fully and working on it. Then we’ll get a better idea.”

Conservative MP Gerald Keddy, parliamentary secretary to Canadian Trade Minister Peter Van Loan and a member of the committee that visited Europe, said he doesn’t share the view of other MPs who fear environmental or animal rights issues could interfere with ratification.

But he said Ottawa has to put greater effort into lobbying the European members.

“We can’t ignore them,” Keddy told Postmedia. “We have to understand and recognize that there are important differences between the EU and Canada, but that doesn’t mean we can’t sign a complementary agreement that benefits both countries.”

The European Parliament will have its final vote on the EU-Korea free trade deal, which is the first to be ratified since the Lisbon Treaty.

“The experience of ratifying Korea has shown that any given bilateral issue, small or large, could become an issue for debate, often based on thin facts and fearmongering,” said Brussels-based trade analyst Hosuk Lee-Makiyama.

“However, the MEPs are less subject to populist sentiments than some may have feared. There is a solid majority of conservatives, liberals and social democrats who by far outnumber the nuts on the fringes.”

© Copyright (c) Postmedia News

The European Parliament’s international trade committee gave its backing today to the EU’s free-trade agreement with South Korea.

The committee endorsed a recommendation to approve the accord with 21 votes for, four against and no abstentions. The recommendation, drafted by UK centre-right MEP Robert Sturdy, will be voted on during the Parliament’s plenary session in Strasbourg on 17 February.

Mr Sturdy said today that he expected “strong” backing for the accord at the full plenary vote.

“The EU needs to send a clear signal, now more than ever, that it is open for business,” said Mr Sturdy. “The swift adoption of this agreement will send out a positive signal that we are not reverting to protectionism in response to the economic environment.”

The committee’s approval of the free-trade agreement comes after months of negotiations between MEPs and member states over a safeguard clause which will be attached to the agreement.

MEPs said they would only approve the overall agreement if they secured a tougher safeguard clause to protect European industries from unfair competition. European carmakers have expressed fears that imports of cheap Korean cars could flood the EU market under the deal.

The committee had also postponed a vote on the accord to check new legislation being introduced by the South Korean government that will set tougher emissions and fuel efficiency standards for cars sold in the country.

A spokesman for Green MEPs said, however, that the EU could still have an opt-out from the regulation. This would mean that cars from the EU sold in South Korea would not have to adhere to the tougher standards. He said the Green group would vote against the accord next week.

The Parliament will vote on both the accord as well as the safeguard clause in Strasbourg.

A compromise deal on the clause, which took three months to negotiate between MEPs and member states, was reached in December.

The Parliament, as well as industry, will have the right under the clause to ask the European Commission to launch an investigation into whether imports are harming EU industries. The inquiry could lead to safeguard measures being imposed on imports from South Korea.
 
MEPs also won a commitment that the Commission would look into amending the safeguard clause to incorporate any additional elements that might be found in the implementation measures for a US-South Korea trade deal, which has also been concluded, but not yet ratified.

The trade deal, which was agreed between the EU and South Korea in October 2009, aims to eliminate 98% of import duties and other trade barriers between the EU and South Korea. It will take effect on 1 July this year if given final approval by MEPs and the South Korean parliament.

MEPs says a parliamentary vote in the Brussels plenary will put an end to the long lasting “banana war.”

They endorsed a deal which brings to an end a heated trade battle over bananas between the EU and Latin America.

Under the agreement on banana import tariffs, the EU will gradually end its preferential treatment of banana exporters in African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries.

In exchange, Latin American countries have agreed to drop their complaints against the EU at the WTO and not to seek further tariff cuts in the Doha round talks.

The EU will gradually cut its import tariff on bananas from Latin America in eight stages, from €176 a tonne at the outset to €114 in 2017.

Bananas from the ACP countries will on the other hand continue to enter the EU market duty free.

The main ACP banana-producing countries are to receive up to €200m cash help from the EU budget to help them adjust to stiffer competition from Latin America.

The outcome of the vote on Thursday was welcomed by MEPs, including S&D vice-president Véronique de Keyser, who said, “I am glad that parliament used its new powers granted by the Lisbon treaty to establish some conditions to this deal reached by the commission.”

Her S&D colleague Francesca Balzani, author of the parliamentary report on the issue, said, “It was about time to end the longest standing trade disputes in the world.

”For 20 years the EU has been accused of violating trade rules by importing bananas from Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries without any levy while imposing heavy taxes on all other countries.”

Meanwhile, British ECR deputy

Robert Sturdy, his group’s international trade spokesman, said the deal was not perfect but it did end the ongoing acrimony between two of the world’s largest trading blocks, and it ensured a softer landing for the ACP.



He said, “The EU needed to bring this ongoing trade dispute to an end. It was souring a trade relationship with emergent Latin American economies that will help to define the 21st century.”

‘Shoe Wars’ to be brought to an end

Brussels 11 January 2011. Punitive EU duties on the imports of shoes from China and Vietnam look set to be dropped after shoemakers ended their bid to extend them today. The European Confederation of the Footwear Industry has bowed to pressure from EU governments to end the duties of 16.5 percent for China and 10 percent for Vietnam shoe imports.

Robert Sturdy MEP, Conservative international trade spokesman in the European Parliament, welcomed the news as a victory for common sense and good news for hard-pressed consumers and retailers who have been heavily affected by the duties, which have been in place since 2006. He has campaigned for them to be lifted for several years, arguing that shoe manufactureres need to face up to the reality of globalisation and global supply chains, rather than attempt to protect against it.

Clarks Shoes says the duties have cost it around €800m in import costs since 2006.

Mr Sturdy said:

“Consumers and retailers are having to pay more for their shoes because of these duties and, at the current time, that is simply morally wrong. Protectionist tariffs such as these have harmed retailers whilst doing next to nothing to save jobs in Southern Europe.

“Many manufacturers have taken advantage of global supply chains to outsource basic production which in the long-term has led to higher-end jobs at home in design and finishing.

“This is a victory for common sense and good news for the High Street. The EU was harming trade relations with China, pushing up prices for consumers and squeezing already tight margins for retailers.”

ENDS

New EU trade agenda must signal an end to Fortress Europe

The EU needs to put in place a clear, transparent and open trading policy that will no longer allow deals to be hatched behind closed doors based on parochial interests, Robert Sturdy MEP, European Conservatives and Reformists group international trade spokesman, said today after the Commission published a new agenda for future trade policy.

The paper is intended to set out ways of using trade policy to encourage economic growth. In particular it proposes an ambitious agenda with the WTO and partners such as India and Mercosur, and a deepening of relations with the US, China, Russia and Japan where the focus will be on tackling non-tariff barriers. The commission also wants to create a mechanism to ‘redress the balance’ between open EU markets and closed markets in trading partners (for example in the area of public procurement), and to set out how trade can continue to support development. A Euro barometer survey published alongside the paper shows that two thirds of EU citizens feel that the EU has benefited from international trade.

Mr Sturdy said:

”The European Commission must be a strong defender of free trade at a time when protectionism looks far too attractive to many across the EU.

 The EU needs to see globalisation and the rise of new economies as an opportunity that should be taken advantage of, not a threat.

Too often the EU’s processes on international trade are murky. Future decisions on trade, particularly antidumping cases, must be far more open and transparent and based on solid fact rather than politics. EU policies have often made products such as Chinese shoes or textiles more expensive for consumers and retailers in northern Europe, with questionable benefits for manufacturers in Southern Europe.

“Small businesses find it particularly hard to navigate complex, opaque trade rules, and many have had the rug pulled from under their feet by what they perceive as a remote Brussels bureaucracy. It is already risky enough for small businesses to take advantage of globalisation and to outsource production or import products from abroad. The EU should provide incentives, not additional headaches.

“The EU’s agenda must be to take the lead in dismantling barriers to trade across the world and in securing a multilateral deal. We must lead the rest of the world by example. The commission’s proposals make welcome noises but we will see how the policy stands up in face of events.”

By JAMES KANTER
Published: November 9, 2010

BRUSSELS — The European Union signaled on Tuesday that it would pursue a more aggressive trade policy, including bringing more cases to the World Trade Organization and negotiating more bilateral deals with countries like India and those in Southeast Asia.

Karel De Gucht, the European Union trade commissioner, said his aim was “to ensure that European business gets a fair deal and that our rights are respected.”

Lobbyists for European businesses broadly praised Mr. De Gucht’s goals, but expressed concern about how he would accomplish them.

“Regrettably, the strategy seems to lack reference to how these ambitious goals will be achieved,” said Arnaldo Abruzzini, the secretary general of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry.

Robert Sturdy, a deputy chairman of the trade committee of the European Parliament, said the “proposals make welcome noises, but we will see how the policy stands up.”

Mr. Sturdy, of Britain, said European trade policy had been weakened in the past because it pandered to special interests with protectionist agendas, instead of allowing businesses to take advantage of globalized markets. He said Chinese shoes and textiles had been made more expensive for consumers and retailers in northern Europe as a result.

At a news conference in Brussels, Mr. De Gucht said that the union needed to do a better job of balancing open markets with trade defense measures to keep its position as the world’s largest source of foreign direct investment and its biggest exporter.

Mr. De Gucht said the main tool for “assertiveness” in European Union trade policy would be a new law that would limit the ability of companies from major trading partners, like China, to bid for public works projects unless European companies have the same access to those countries’ fast-growing economies.

That mechanism is necessary because European companies have been increasingly frustrated by roadblocks to investment in China as Chinese investors have made inroads into Europe, Mr. De Gucht said in an interview last month. Cases involving road building in Poland and Germany had aroused anger because Chinese investors made bids that were far lower than those of competitors, he said.

The commission will formally make its proposals next summer.

Mr. De Gucht also pledged to increase the use of lawsuits at the World Trade Organization in Geneva, the main place for settling disputes in cases where trading partners accuse each other of unfairly subsidizing their own industries or blocking investment. The European Union had to tackle “the worst protectionist measures by other countries,” policy documents it issued Tuesday said.

According to suggestions endorsed by Mr. De Gucht, the European Union should do more to stop counterfeits, and should start producing an annual review of trade and investment barriers next spring that would lead to retaliatory actions.

27 October 2010
A delegation from the European parliament’s Committee on International Trade is visiting South Africa.

 Their leader Robert Sturdy said they will meet a range of people, including Trade and Industry Minister Rob Davies.

Mr Sturdy is the rapporteur on economic partnership agreements (EPAs). He said he has come to see for himself what hurdles exist to agreeing an EPA with the Southern African Development Community (SADC) by the end of this year.

“I believe that there are huge opportunities for South Africa but what we need is to be able to discuss the issues,” said Mr Sturdy.

He said they have come to ascertain what South Africa wants from the European Union. So far, European parliamentarians have heard only the European Commission‘s side of the argument.