Brussels, 05/12/2006 (Agence Europe) - The day before officially presenting his request for five negotiating briefs for bilateral free trade agreements (FTA), two of which are foreseen in the context of association agreements with Central America and the Andean Community, Peter Mandelson confirmed on Tuesday during a conference in Brussels on trade and decent work that these “new generation” FTAs would be of a very new kind.
In addition to the Singapore questions (investment, competition and State aid, public procurement and trade facilitation), the first three themes of which had been ruled out of multilateral trade talks in Doha in response to pressure from developing countries, the Trade Commissioner plans to include in future FTAs a chapter devoted to the conditions and standards of decent work as well as to environmental requirements. “I would like to see us make a step change in how we integrate decent work and the broader agenda of sustainable development into these bilateral agreements” that the Commission hopes to negotiate, if it receives clearance from Council, with South Korea, India and the ASEAN countries, Mr Mandelson stressed. “Rather than seeking a sanctions-based approach, the EU would look to establish dialogues on labour conditions and could offer additional concessions in bilateral deals linked to ILO or environmental standards”, he added. The aim is clear: by placing decent work standards at the heart of the new generation FTAs, the Union may not only stimulate economic and social development of the partner countries envisaged but also and above all make access to the Community market more difficult for low-cost exports from these same countries.
Mr Mandelson also invited the Twenty-Five to support the Commission's recommendation aimed at withdrawing the trade preferences enjoyed by Belarus under the Union's generalised system of preferences (GSP) for Minsk's failure to comply with international standards on working conditions. “Where countries systematically flout Core Labour Standards, we need to be prepared to act”, he stressed, saying: “In my view, this decision is a test case of our collective commitment to the promotion of workers' rights as an integral part of our trade policy”.
After the requests for negotiating briefs have been officially made on Wednesday, the EU foreign ministers are expected to discuss the matter at their meeting on 11 December in order to allow negotiations to begin as soon as possible in 2007. (eh)