Brussels, 14/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - The tour of European Commissioner for Trade Karel De Gucht in Southeast Asia coincides with the final round of EU-Vietnam trade negotiations. In Burma, De Gucht is to launch bilateral negotiations on investment protection.
This four-day trip, from 17 to 20 March, will first of all take De Gucht to Hanoi, where he will meet his opposite number, Vu Huy Hoang, to take stock of free-trade negotiations begun in June 2012, which are reaching their conclusion. De Gucht's arrival in Vietnam coincides with the seventh and final round of technical talks, from 17 to 21 March. The Commission and the Vietnamese government “are looking for a swift conclusion of the negotiations, so that businesses can start reaping the benefits of an ambitious agreement”, the European Commission states in a press release. The Vietnamese side is hoping to conclude an agreement, followed by its signature this year, when Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung visits Europe in the autumn. De Gucht will also meet the prime minister next week.
De Gucht will then travel to Myanmar, where he and the Burmese trade minister, Win Myint, will launch negotiations for an agreement on investment protection. Burma/Myanmar resumed its preferential access to the European market in July 2013, under the Everything but Arms initiative for the least-developed countries. In 2013, the bilateral trade in goods was worth €569 million, up 41% on 2012. Myanmar's exports grew by 35%, to reach €223 million. Although the country's exports previously comprised mainly clothing (66.9%), this share fell to 58.2% in 2013. Exports of precious stones (11.7%) and wood products (7.8%), on the other hand, have re-entered the country's export base.
In Cambodia, De Gucht will meet his counterpart Sun Chanthol, the trade minister. Their discussions will focus on the recent work of the joint committee. As an LDC, Cambodia also benefits from the Everything but Arms regime. In 2013, the bilateral trade in goods was worth €2.8 billion, compared to €2.1 billion in 2012. Cambodia's exports to the EU rose by 30% to reach €2.4 billion. Its main exports are clothes (68.8%), shoes (12.9%), bicycles (10.3%), rice (5.2%) and sugar (1.6%). (EH)