Brussels, 20/03/2014 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission has welcomed the notable progress in 2013 on lifting barriers to trade on key third country markets. Russia, on the other, cuts a bad figure.
The latest report on barriers to trade and investment on third country markets, which the Commission will present to the leaders of the 28 EU member states on 20 March, highlights notable progress in 2013 towards the removal of most of the obstacles that hinder the access of European companies to markets in China, India, Japan, Argentina, Brazil, the US and Russia. However, the report also highlights that “some deep-rooted protectionist barriers still persist in some countries”, particularly in Russia - which has been called on to make great efforts to liberalise with its joining the WTO in 2012.
Among the successes, the Commission highlights China's abandonment of the discriminatory elements in its taxation measures targeting the logistics sector and maritime transport. The report also underlines an improvement in access to the Indian market for European manufacturers of telecommunications products and electronic products, thanks to New Delhi's suspension of its preferential procurement policies in favour of local products. The Commission also welcomes the postponement of Indian demands as regards the mandatory testing and certification requirements for telecom network elements for security reasons, and it welcomes changes in India's investment rules which now authorise 100% foreign ownership in the telecoms sector. In addition, the report hails Brazil's abandonment of its list of 100 temporary exceptions to the common external tariff.
By contrast, the Commission regrets the persistence of several obstacles mentioned in the three previous editions of its report - particularly in Russia, which is the subject of a separate chapter in the new document. The Commission criticises Moscow's slow pace at coming into line with its WTO obligations more than a year after its accession. Brussels criticises recurrent sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) restrictions - particularly the recent Russian embargo on live pigs and pork products from the entire EU following the detection of an outbreak of African swine fever in Lithuania. As well as the Russian recycling tax on imported cars, which is the subject of a complaint at the WTO (DS 462), the Commission also criticises technical barriers to trade in several sectors in Russia, and technical regulations adopted at the level of the customs union with Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Although it seems as if the finger is being pointed at Russia, the Commission report also underlines the persistence of trade barriers in China (the indigenous innovation policy, local content requirements, and cosmetics regulations), in India (certification regime for tyres, and SPS issues), in Argentina (local content requirements) and in Mercosur (measures from Argentina and Brazil which hamper the provision of maritime services between Mercosur countries). Lastly, the Commission criticises the emergence of new barriers, such as the forestry programme in Japan which discriminates against imported timber. (EH)