Brussels, 26/06/2012 (Agence Europe) - The signing of the multipartite free-trade agreement between the EU, Colombia and Peru has begun the ratification procedure with a view to the agreement taking effect end 2012.
Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Danish Ambassador to the EU Jonas Bering Lisberg on the European side, and Colombian Trade Minister Sergio Diaz-Granados and his Peruvian counterpart José Luis Silva Martinot signed the multipartite free-trade agreement between the EU, on one hand, and Colombia and Peru, on the other, on Tuesday 26 June. Initialled on 23 March 2011, the text of the agreement was then translated into the 21 EU languages and legally verified. Signature opens the formal ratification procedure by the EU and by its two Andean partners. The European Parliament will be the first to act by voting on assent this year while member states' parliaments are expected to adopt the text at a later stage. In the meantime, the trade agreement will be provisionally applied between the parties.
Once fully implemented, the agreement will eliminate tariffs on 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. It also includes a far-reaching agreement on the protection of human rights and on the rule of law as well as commitments to effectively implement international conventions on labour rights and environmental protection. Civil society organisations will be systematically involved in monitoring the implementation of these commitments, which will also be subject to an arbitration system.
In a press release, the Commission points out the main advantages that such an agreement will have for the EU. It will relieve EU exporters of €270 million in duties annually. Thus, it will be worth over €33 million in tariff reductions for the automotive and car parts sector, around €16 million for chemicals and over €60 million for textiles. Other noticeable tariff reductions will be on pharmaceutical and telecommunication products. In the agricultural sector, in addition to tariff concessions by the Andean countries, the agreement will allow protection of over 100 EU geographical indications. Furthermore, it will promote best practices agreed at international level to secure a transparent, non-discriminatory and predictable environment for operators and investors. This will be achieved via a mediation mechanism designed to address non-tariff barriers and, if necessary, an advanced bilateral dispute settlement mechanism. The agreement also includes a chapter on cooperation to promote innovation and the transfer of technology between the signatory parties. Finally, the agreement contains an accession clause for the two other members of the Andean Community of Nations, Bolivia and Ecuador. (EH/transl.jl)