Brussels, 04/06/2015 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 3 June, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström underlined the EU's commitment to the climate through the EU's trade policy - and especially through the negotiations for an ambitious international agreement on the liberalisation of green goods.
“The need to act is urgent. That's why EU free trade agreements front-load the liberalisation of environmentally friendly goods so their tariffs are cut right away. It's also why our deals have sustainable development chapters (…) It is also why we advocate for a green technology chapter/annex in our latest negotiations and we want to put special emphasis on renewable energy and energy efficiency in the energy chapter with TTIP. And it's why the European Union is playing a leading role, along with 16 other partners, in the negotiations for a trade agreement on environmental technologies goods”, Malmström stated at a round table discussion in Brussels.
The EU is the top exporter and importer of environmental goods and services in the world, and its exports in this sector represent 10-15% of its total exports, Malmström said, adding that the global market could increase from $900 billion to $2 trillion by 2020.
Malmström wants to conclude an ambitious agreement on liberalising trade in green products - an agreement that the EU has been negotiating with 16 other WTO members since July 2014 (see EUROPE 11320). Ambitious on tariffs, because the global average bound tariff on these goods stands at nearly 9%, with peaks of over 20% in South Asia and of over 40% in Latin America, Malmström said. This agreement will have to be easy to implement at customs level, and “cover as many environment products as possible”, she added, in particular equipment that can be used to control air pollution and goods that support better waste management. The EU also wants an ambitious result for technologies to produce renewable energies and improve energy efficiency. “The talks started from a baseline of 54 products. Members aim to double, triple or even quadruple this number”, she said. The EU furthermore wants the agreement to cover services linked to the goods sold, and to lift regulatory barriers “by finding common approaches for green industries”. In addition, the future agreement should also address issues linked to public procurement and focus on subsidies, Malmström stated, adding that “there should be a clear revision mechanism. It should allow us to update the text as needed to add new products and set a programme for future work on the whole range of non-tariff barriers”. (Emmanuel Hagry)