Brussels, 26/07/2013 (Agence Europe) - Annual savings of €500 million in customs duties are expected with the lifting of trade barriers from 1 August.
Waiting to be ratified by all the EU member states, the free-trade agreement between the EU and Colombia - which was signed in June 2012 - will enter into force on Thursday 1 August.
The agreement provides for the gradual liberalisation of trade in goods and services, public procurement and investment protection. At the end of the transition period, industrial products and fisheries products will no longer be subject to customs duties, while trade in agricultural products will be much more open. The opening of the EU and Colombian markets to their respective exporters should ultimately bring about annual savings of €500 million.
The new trade regime between the EU and Colombia will have the benefit of creating a more transparent and predictable business climate for investment. The improvement of conditions for creating business links should lead to more integrated value chains and make it easier to transfer technology, the European Commission states in a press release.
The Commission recalls that the agreement includes clauses on respect of human rights, respect for the rule of law, and the effective implementation of international conventions on labour rights and environmental protection. Civil society organisations will be systematically involved in monitoring the implementation of these commitments, the Commission states.
This multipartite agreement, which was also concluded between the EU and Peru, aims to foster regional integration in the Andean community. Its door therefore remains open to Bolivia and Ecuador, which withdrew from the negotiations in 2008.
The EU is Colombia's third biggest source of imports, and its second biggest export market. Colombia particularly exports agricultural products, mineral products and fuels to the European market, and largely imports machinery and transport material from it. Bilateral trade has increased significantly over recent years, reaching €14 billion in 2012. (EH/transl.fl)