On Wednesday 11 September, BusinessEurope, the representative body of Europe’s major companies, presented its priorities for the new legislative cycle, particularly on the subject of trade. It calls for a proactive trade policy in which the EU concludes more free trade agreements (FTAs) more quickly.
To do this, the Commission should negotiate EU-exclusive competence agreements, i.e. agreements which only include a trade component, according to BusinessEurope’s recommendations.
The difficulties associated with negotiating FTAs can also be overcome by proposing sectoral agreements to partners, such as in the digital sector, critical raw materials or even agreements to encourage sustainable investment.
BusinessEurope emphasizes that the primary objective is to diversify partners, in order to limit risks and dependencies, sometimes in strategic sectors.
Diversification also concerns EU exports, the organisation’s Director General, Markus Beyrer insisted before a number of journalists, including Agence Europe, on Wednesday 11 September. Varying the countries to which European products are sent means that we are less vulnerable to potential threats of trade barriers.
The issue of economic security is therefore a key priority for BusinessEurope. The organisation promotes an open trade policy as a basic principle, but also supports the use of trade defence tools where necessary. “When the conditions for a specific case are met, we must not hesitate to apply measures”, Markus Beyrer told Agence Europe.
This applies to China in the case of anti-dumping and anti-subsidy tariffs. However, Mr Beyrer emphasizes the need for “an in-depth and broader dialogue between the EU and China”.
See the priorities: https://aeur.eu/f/ddl (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)