International trade is the fourth and final pillar of the Green Deal Industrial Plan presented by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday 1 February. We need it because “it establishes value chains, quality jobs and supports our industries in developing their products”, said Ms von der Leyen.
As detailed previously by EUROPE (see EUROPE 13110/1), the Commission wants to reduce dependencies in critical sectors and to do so by diversifying its trading partners.
Ms von der Leyen noted the next trade agreements to be signed: those with Mexico, Chile (negotiations concluded in December 2022, see EUROPE 13081/19), New Zealand (negotiations concluded in June - see EUROPE 12983/5) and Australia.
As for the EU/Mercosur agreement, discussions should be relaunched, she said (see EUROPE 13111/22).
Where free trade agreements are not an option, the Commission wants to explore other types of partnership, such as a commodities club, Trade and Technology Councils (TTCs) like it has created with the US, or ‘net zero’ industrial partnerships.
Reforming the WTO
For trade to benefit both European industry and the climate transition, it needs strong backing from the World Trade Organization (WTO), as “some 60% of the EU’s trade takes place in the WTO”, stressed EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis.
So far, however, the WTO has done very little to address trade for environmental transition and has even struggled to ban environmentally harmful subsidies, for example. This is why the Commission says it is committed to reforming the international organisation.
See the European Commission’s communication: https://aeur.eu/f/566 (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)