Brussels, 25/02/2010 (Agence Europe) - From 1 to 5 March, Karel De Gucht will make his first visit to Asia as European Trade Commissioner. This visit, which will take him from Vietnam, to Singapore, then on to India, is a mark of the European Commission's desire to find new outlets for exports to the most dynamic emerging Asian markets.
In Vietnam on 1-2 March, De Gucht will call for stronger trade relations with the EU, by means of an “individual” bilateral free trade agreement, following the freeze in bloc-to-bloc negotiations with the ASEAN. Vietnam, which have undergone rapid economic and social change since 2000, including increased openness to trade and investment, is one of the most promising economies in South-East Asia, with annual PIB growth of 8% per year between 2003 and 2008, then 5% in 2009, despite the crisis, and 6.5% growth forecast for 2010. Annual bilateral trade in goods was worth €12 billion in 2008, and bilateral trade grew by 12% per year between 2004 and 2008.
In Singapore on 2-3 March, the Commissioner will formally open negotiations on an ambitious bilateral free trade agreement with the city state, in the hope that other ASEAN members will follow suit very quickly. The Commission hopes to conclude an agreement in less than two years with the EU's largest trading partner in the ASEAN, with which bilateral trade is worth €55 billion per year and bilateral investment was €100 billion in 2007. With Singapore's economy is based largely on banking and financial services, trade, shipping, tourism, electronics, naval yards and oil refining, negotiations will focus on financial services and rationalisation of rules of origin.
In India on 4-5 March, De Gucht will bring fresh political impetus to negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement which, after their launch in 2007, have shown little progress since. On the technical level, the EU and India still have to agree on the content of the new agreement, which they have pledged to conclude by the end of this year, a deadline which is becoming less and less likely, with public procurement, the highest customs duties and non-tariff barriers remaining the main source of concern on the European side. India is a major emerging powering the 21st century global economic order. It combines a huge, dynamic market of over one billion people with growth rate of between 8 and 10%. Its middle classes correspond to half the population of the EU and have purchasing power comparable to that of some EU member states. India is already one of the EU's major trading partners, trade in goods amounting to €61 billion in 2008. Despite increased openness over the last 20 years, India still applies substantial tariff and non-tariff barriers, preventing trade with the EU reaching its full potential. (E.H./transl.rt)