Latin
America
The
EU has established and built up links with Latin America
since the 1960s, developing relations at the national, regional
and sub-continental levels. It is Latin America’s second
trading partner, and the first partner for Mercosur, Chile
and the Andean Community. EU trade with Latin America doubled
between 1990 and 2000. EU exports of goods to Latin America
were worth €54.5 billion in 2000, against imports of €48.8
billion in the same year. The EU is also the largest foreign
investor in the region.
EU-Andean
Community (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Venezuela)
The
EU’s relations with the Andean Community are based on a
range of instruments, including the 1993 Regional Framework
Agreement, which came into force in 1998. Although this
agreement seeks to develop and diversify trade and investment,
it does not contain any preferential market access provisions.
Instead, the members of the Andean Community are beneficiaries
of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Scheme. GSP aims to encourage developing
countries to export by allowing their products preferential
access to the EU. Under GSP, special arrangements are granted
to the Andean Community and certain other developing countries
combating the illicit production and trafficking of drugs
in the form of duty free access to the EU for certain of
their products. As a result, 90% of Andean exports to the
EU enter duty free.
At
the EU-Latin American Caribbean Summit in Madrid in May
2002, the EU agreed to open negotiations on a Political
Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement with the Andean Community.
Negotiations were completed in late 2003 and the agreement
was formally signed in Rome on 15 December.
At
Further details can be found on the EU
website
EU-Central
America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
and Panama)
The
EU’s trade relations with Central America are based on the
1993 Framework Co-operation Agreement, which came into force
in 1999. While this Agreement seeks to develop and broaden
trade to the highest possible degree, it does not contain
any preferential market access provisions. Instead, like
the Andean Community the Central American countries are
beneficiaries of the EU’s Generalised System of Preferences
(GSP). They
are also beneficiaries of the special arrangements granted
under GSP to countries combating the illicit production
and trafficking of drugs in the form of duty free access
to the EU for certain of their products.
At
the EU-Latin American Caribbean Summit in Madrid in May
2002, the EU agreed to open negotiations on a Political
Dialogue and Co-operation Agreement with the Central Americans.
Negotiations were completed in late 2003 and the agreement
was formally signed in Rome on 15 December.
Further
details can be found on the EU
website
EU-Mercosur
(‘The Market of the South’: Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay
and Uruguay)
The
EU and Mercosur are currently negotiating an Interregional
Association Agreement based on three main pillars of polititical
dialogue, trade liberalisation and co-operation. The trade
element of the agreement aims to create free trade in goods
and services in line with WTO rules. The agreement is broad
based covering Technical Barriers to Trade, Competition,
Customs, Sanitary and Phytosanitary regulations, Non Agricultural
Market Access, Intellectual Property Rights, Government
Procurement, Investment and Services.
Further
details can be found on the EU website
EU-Chile
After
2 years of talks, the EU and Chile concluded negotiations
on 26 April 2002 for an EU-Chile Association Agreement.
The Agreement covers all aspects of the EU’s trade relations
with Chile, in addition to an enhanced framework for political
dialogue and co-operation in mutual areas of interest.
In addition it covers and will probably have the most comprehensive
The n text agreement provides liberalisation for all industrial
goods, and liberalisation of over 90% of the two sides’
agricultural, processed agricultural and fishery products.
There will also be:
· a
free trade agreement in services
· an
investment agreement
· an
agreement on public procurement
· a
wines and spirits agreement. This will provide a
high level of mutual protection for wines and spirits containing
geographical indications and traditional expressions. It
will also improve market access on both sides for these
products
·
a sanitary and phytosanitary agreement. This will
help to promote trade in animal products while safeguarding
public, animal and plant health
·
a trade facilitation agenda covering customs and
related matters
·
rules on competition and intellectual property
and an effective dispute settlement system.
The
EU is Chile’s principal trading partner and foreign investor.
This Agreement will help to consolidate that position.
Further
details can be found on the EU website
EU-Mexico
The
EU and Mexico signed an Economic Partnership, Political
Co-ordination and Co-operation Agreement on 8 December 1997.
This Agreement, which is also known as the 'Global' Agreement,
came into force on 1 October 2000. It covers a wide variety
of issues and establishes a framework for strengthening
political dialogue, increasing co-operation and liberalising
trade between the two sides.
The
trade provisions covered by the Global Agreement are subsequently
contained in the following two Decisions of the EU-Mexico
Joint Council, set up to oversee implementation of the Agreement.
·
Decision 2/2000 contains the text of an EU-Mexico Free Trade
Agreement (FTA) in goods. This was adopted on 23 March 2000
and entered into force on 1 July 2000. The FTA will liberalise
over 96% of EU-Mexico trade by 2007. All Mexican industrial
products will enter the EU free of duty from 1 January 2003.
The majority of EU exports of industrial products to Mexico
will also be duty free by that date. The remainder will
only have to contend with a maximum tariff of 5% until 2007,
when EU Mexican trade in industrial goods will be completely
liberalised. The FTA also provides for substantial liberalisation
of both sides agricultural and fishery products.
·
Decision 2/2001 sets out the arrangements for the liberalisation
of trade in services, the liberalisation of investment and
related payments, the protection of intellectual property
rights and the establishment of a dispute settlement mechanism.
This Decision was adopted on 27 February 2001 and entered
into force on 1 March 2001.
The
EU is Mexico’s second largest trading partner after the
US. These Decisions will help to give EU companies much
the same access to the Mexican market as their NAFTA competitors
and should give a substantial boost to EU-Mexican trade.
The
text of these Decisions can be viewed on the EU website.
Contact:
Ian Broadhurst
Tel: 020 7215 5772
Fax: 020 7215 2235
Email: ian.broadhurst@dti.gsi.gov.uk
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