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Free Trade Agreements: setting a level playing field with third countries
Free trade is the best option to guarantee new market opportunities. In this field, global agreements certainly provide the most optimal framework to reach this objective. However, when no longer progress can be obtained through this route, the European tyre & rubber manufacturers support that the regional/bilateral approach is taken.
A Free Trade Agreement (FTA) should be
beneficial for all parties in setting a fair and equitable level
playing field between the two entities, in full consistency with
the World
Trade Organisation (WTO) rules. To this
end, it should allow to move towards deeper economic integration
amongst the two countries/regions through progressive
elimination of all forms of barriers to trade in goods, services
and investments, including tariffs and non-tariff measures.
European tyre
manufacturers therefore expect that pending dossiers with key
Asian emerging markets will receive a new impetus as a result of
the European Commission’s on-going negotiations for a Free
Trade Agreement with India and the ten ASEAN countries.
The planned ‘new generation’ agreements are intended
to go beyond areas covered by WTO rules, in including, for
instance, the respect of intellectual property rights and
foreign investments.
 
| |
2000 |
2002 |
2004 |
2006 |
2008 |
|
|
2000 |
2002 |
2004 |
2006 |
2008 |
| India |
16 |
30 |
49 |
99 |
160 |
|
ASEAN |
214 |
220 |
274 |
353 |
438 |
| EU |
5 |
3 |
5 |
8 |
15 |
|
EU |
42 |
41 |
47 |
46 |
51 |
To
remove the identified non-tariff barriers, the industry believes
that the best signal to secure a level regulatory playing field
with these key players is to demand the progressive elimination
of currently identified trade obstacles, prior to the completion
of any FTA.
To achieve this, the EC should obtain its partners’
commitment to contribute to the international harmonisation of
technical regulations, through adhesion to international fora
such as the UN/ECE.
It
is also essential that the EC closely involves industry, keeping
it regularly updated throughout the FTA negotiation process,
from preliminary consultations and the launch of talks through
to the completion of the final agreement.
It is only through such intense cooperation with industry
that the European Union will able to achieve its ambitious
objective of “opening markets abroad”.
Update 29
July 2009
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