According to a report published by the European Commission on Tuesday 26 June, in 2017 the European Union obtained the removal of 45 barriers to trade and investment set up in third countries. This was twice the number of barriers as in 2016.
The barriers removed spanned across 13 key EU export and investment sectors –aircraft, automotive, ceramics, ICT & electronics, machinery, pharma, medical devices, textiles, leather, agri-food, steel, paper, and services.
The Commission notably obtained the recognition of safety standards used by the EU machinery industry in Brazil's new safety legislation; the elimination of administrative barriers for services in Argentina; and the removal of restrictions on copper and aluminium scrap, and paper in Turkey.
It also obtained the removal of animal and plant health and hygiene barriers related to bovine exports from some EU member states to China, Saudi Arabia and Taiwan; and the elimination of certain restrictions on poultry exports from some EU member states to Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Overall, under the Juncker Commission, the Commission has obtained the removal of 88 barriers to trade and investment in third countries – which enabled European companies, between 2014 and 2016 alone, to export an additional €4.8 billion in 2017.
Protectionist trend. The Commission also states that in 2017, 67 new barriers were recorded in third countries, bringing the total number of existing barriers to 396 in 57 countries, and confirming the "worrying" protectionist trend identified in previous years.
China displayed the largest increase in new barriers in 2017, followed by Russia, South Africa, India and Turkey. The nine countries with the highest number of trade barriers still in place are all G20 economies. The Mediterranean region also showed a notable rise in barriers for EU companies. (Original version in French by Emmanuel Hagry)