On Monday 27 November, the external trade ministers of the European Union will meet in Brussels for a Foreign Affairs Council in its ‘Trade’ configuration. Several items are on the agenda for the meeting, starting with preparations for the 13th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference, taking place from 24 to 29 February 2024 in Abu Dhabi.
The ministers are also expected to review the progress made in several bilateral trade negotiations with Chile, the United States and Australia (see EUROPE 13282/5).
Xiana Méndez, Spain’s Secretary of State for Trade, will chair the meeting, and Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commissioner for Trade, will represent the European Commission.
Trade agreements under negotiation
The EU is currently at an advanced stage of negotiations with several third countries with a view to finalising new free trade agreements. The lunch will provide an opportunity to discuss these ongoing negotiations, particularly with Chile and Mercosur.
The agreement with Chile (see EUROPE 13081/19) should be ratified by the end of the year. Among other things, it should enable the EU to obtain an additional source of lithium supplies, thereby supporting its green transition, as well as enhancing its presence in South America.
The situation with Mercosur should also be addressed, given the major importance of the agreement to the Spanish Presidency of the EU Council. Negotiations are still ongoing and have intensified since talks between the EU and Australia came to an abrupt halt (see EUROPE 13293/22).
Some Mercosur countries are still opposed to the environmental provisions demanded by certain EU countries. The recent election of Javier Milei as President of Argentina could jeopardise the success of negotiations between now and the end of the year.
Relations with the United States
A few weeks after the summit between the EU and the United States, the ministers are expected to revisit the failed discussions on two of the current trade agreements, on steel and aluminium, and on critical minerals (see EUROPE 13276/1).
The stated ambition is to bring these discussions to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible, particularly for steel and aluminium, where a solution must be found before 1 January 2024. The agreement on critical minerals, meanwhile, is designed to ensure that European companies do not feel the full force of the restrictions imposed by the US Inflation Reduction Act, in order to maintain their competitiveness.
A meeting of the EU-US Trade and Technology Council is also planned, but no exact date has yet been set.
13th WTO Ministerial Conference
When discussing the issues to be addressed at the next WTO ministerial meeting, Mr Dombrovskis is expected to set out four key priorities for the EU: - re-establishing a fully operational dispute settlement mechanism and appellate body; - concluding the second phase of negotiations on fisheries subsidies; - extending the moratoria on e-commerce and on the e-commerce work programme; - launching a discussion forum dedicated to government intervention and environmental protection.
See the provisional agenda: https://aeur.eu/f/9r3 (Original version in French by Isalia Stieffatre)