Brussels, 20/06/2011 (Agence Europe) - Free trade with the Americas is at the centre of this week's visit by Commissioner Karel De Gucht to the US, Guatemala and Costa Rica.
Bilateral economic and trade relations, the Trans-Atlantic Economic Council (TEC), and liberalisation of international trade and multinational negotiations at the WTO's Doha Round will be at the heart of talks with representatives from the US government (headed by Deputy National Security Adviser for the White House Michael Froman and Trade Representative Ron Kirk), Congress and US business leaders, included in Commissioner De Gucht's programme for the 20 and 21 June in Washington.
On his visit to Guatemala on 22 and 23 June, the Commissioner for trade will represent the EU at an international conference on Central America's security strategy. This conference will be attended by foreign affairs and trade ministers from Central America (Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama and Salvador) whom the Commissioner will meet during his visit to Costa Rica on 23 and 24 June, where he will underline the importance of ratification and a swift application of the association agreement concluded with the EU in May 2010 and initialled on 22 March, which includes a large trade section (EUROPE 10343).
The EU and the US are each other's largest trade and investment partners. Bilateral trade in goods rose to more than €1 billion a day out of a total of €411 billion in 2010. Each of the two partners absorbs almost 20% of exports in merchandise and around 30% of exports in each other's services. The value of stocks in direct investment from abroad rose to almost €2,100 billion. Bilateral trade in goods between the EU and Central America was worth €12 billion in 2010. (E.H.trans/fl)