Ahead of the inter-institutional negotiations on the ‘Turnberry’ customs agreement between the European Union and the United States on Wednesday 6 May, the European Commission’s Director-General for Trade, Sabine Weyand, called on the co-legislators - the European Parliament and the EU Council - to reach an agreement quickly.
Invited to exchange views with the members of the European Parliament’s Committee on International Trade (INTA), the senior civil servant, who will be stepping down on 1 June, delivered a final political message to MEPs before the interinstitutional meeting scheduled for the evening.
Although she had been critical of the agreement reached in Scotland last summer, particularly with regard to its compatibility with the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Sabine Weyand felt that this compromise was “the best option” for protecting European economic interests.
“It’s high time to move forward on this issue and show that the EU is delivering on its commitments. We have all the elements to demonstrate that [Europeans] remain reliable partners, while retaining all the necessary instruments to react to any developments in the situation”, she declared.
Persistent challenges. On transatlantic relations, however, she warned that adoption of the ‘Turnberry’ agreement would not put an end to the instability of trade relations with Washington, which she identified as one of the three structural challenges set to persist over the coming years.
Taking stock of the EU’s trade policy in recent years, Ms Weyand highlighted a change of era in the Union’s trade policy, which now focuses on economic security.
Among other structural challenges, she cited the persistent difficulties surrounding WTO reform, as well as trade imbalances with China, linked to the Chinese economic and industrial model. She called for dialogue with Beijing to be maintained, while pointing out that since 2019 the EU has had a number of trade defence instruments that can be mobilised if this dialogue is unsuccessful.
Finally, Ms Weyand stressed the need for the EU to diversify its commercial partnerships. “We tend to focus on China and the United States, but 80% of the world economy is elsewhere”, she said, suggesting that the EU should deepen its relations with partners committed to the rules of world trade. (Original version in French by Juliette Verdes)