Trade Policy & the EU
‘An
effective and coherent external policy’
The
United Kingdom, as part of its membership of the European
Community, has agreed to join with other Member States in
a customs union with common arrangements for imports from
and exports to third counties. These common arrangements
are decided, discussed, agreed and administered through
the Community’s ‘Common Commercial Policy’ (CCP).
The
CCP establishes uniform principles between all twenty-five
Member States governing EU Trade Policy including; changes
in tariff rates, the conclusion of tariff and trade agreements
with non member countries, uniformity in trade liberalisation
measures, export policy and instruments to protect trade
such as anti-dumping measures and subsidies. For example,
by maintaining the Common External Tariff, any product entering
the Community will be subject to the same tariff rate whether
it enters through a port in Italy, in Portugal or in the
UK.
Where
issues which affect the Community's CCP are being discussed
in international fora, all twenty-five Member States co-ordinate
on policy in order to present a cohesive Community external
policy. In the multilateral World Trade Organisation negotiations,
the Commission speaks on behalf of the Community and its
Member States.
Article
133 Committee
Community
trade policy is decided in the Article 133 Committee. The
Committee, named after the relevant article of the EC Treaty,
is technically a Working Group of the Council. It is comprised
of representatives from each Member State and chaired by whichever
Member State holds the EU Presidency; from 1 January 2006
this will be Austria.
The
Committee meets on a weekly basis, usually on a Friday.
It discusses the full range of trade policy issues affecting
the Community, from the strategic issues surrounding the
launch of rounds of trade negotiations at the WTO to specific
difficulties with the export of individual products, and
considers the trade aspects of wider Community policies
in order to ensure consistency of policy. Specialist meetings
of the Article 133 Committee also meet separately to consider
such complex issues as trade in services and textiles in
greater depth than is usually possible.
The
Committee operates on a formal basis, with agendas drawn up
by the Presidency, in consultation with the Commission and
Council Secretariat (133 agendas can be seen on the Council
Website), and with papers submitted by the Commission
and Member States for the consideration of all Member States.
Many papers from the Commission come to the Committee in draft
for discussion and approval before being finalised and forwarded
to the WTO in Geneva. Papers which have been agreed by the
Committee can be found at DG Trade’s
website.
Whatever
the make up of the Committee - at whatever level, generalist
or specialist - officials representing their Member States
at the Article 133 Committee are accountable to their domestic
Ministers for their actions.
Ray
Symons
Tel: 020 7215 2318
Fax: 020 7215 2235
Email: ray.symons@dti.gsi.gov.uk
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