On Wednesday 8 March, European Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström and Singapore's Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang affirmed the commitment of the EU and Singapore to the swift entry into force of their free trade agreement – which was concluded in 2012.
"In a time of rising protectionism in many quarters of the world, we look forward to the entry into force of the EU-Singapore trade agreement. It will open doors and create opportunities for companies big and small, help to boost economic growth and investment, and create jobs", Malmström stated, underlining that the agreement was a "key element " for strengthening trade relations between the EU and South East Asia.
"Together with our agreement concluded with Vietnam and those under negotiation with other South-East Asian countries, we are building new bridges to our most important trade partners", Malmström added. On 10 March, she is due to meet the economy ministers of the ASEAN countries in Manila to discuss how to relaunch the project for an EU-ASEAN free trade agreement.
In an international context that has been made uncertain by the protectionist threat of Donald Trump's USA, Malmström and Lim also confirmed the "strong commitment" of the EU and Singapore to free trade and the multilateral rules-based system. They also affirmed their shared interest in a reform of the international rules on investment.
The EU-Singapore free trade agreement was concluded in December 2012 (see EUROPE 107533) and its chapter on investment was completed in October 2014 (see EUROPE 11719). It is the first bilateral free trade agreement between the EU and a country from the ASEAN.
Ratification of the EU-Singapore free trade agreement was put on hold pending an opinion from the European Court of Justice (CJEU) that had been requested by the European Commission in October 2014 regarding the division of competences for signing and ratifying the agreement (see EUROPE 11188). In conclusions published in December 2016, the advocate general considered that the EU did not have the exclusive competence to sign and conclude this agreement (see EUROPE 11694). The decision (opinion) of the CJEU will be handed down in 2017.
Singapore is the EU's top trading partner in the ASEAN bloc, accounting for 25% of the region's trade in goods and 50% of its trade in services with the EU. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)