Talsk to start with Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia

The member states’ 27 ministers agreed, during the Foreign Affairs Council in Geneva, on 14 December, to start trade negotiations with Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Jordan after the four countries have enacted economic reforms over the past months. The aim of these negotiations would be to lower trade barriers to the exchange of services and agricultural goods between the two regions “with a view to establishing ‘deep and comprehensive’ free trade areas, as part of the existing Euro-Mediterranean association agreements with those countries,” a statement said. The four countries – members of the World Trade Organisation – already have agreements with the EU on trade in goods. The negotiations will focus on a range of areas, including sanitary and phytosanitary measures, investment protection, competition policy and public procurement.

The European Commission welcomed the Council’s decision. “We are offering Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia progressive economic integration into the EU market,” said Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht. He added that the EU’s “door is open for other Southern Mediterranean partners once the same conditions are met”. The Commission said in a statement that it would also consider measures that would enhance the Agadir Agreement, a free trade agreement between Egypt, Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia.

No Doha breakthrough expected

The ministers also discussed preparations for the WTO’s 8th ministerial conference, to be held on 15-17 December in Geneva, stating that while no breakthroughs were to be expected on the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) negotiations, the Council was ready to continue working on an “ambitious and comprehensive outcome to the meeting”. They emphasised the need for more effective ways to counter existing and new protectionist measures that have become more numerous in the midst of the financial and economic crisis and said they were prepared to discuss government procurement agreement market access at their next meeting. The ministers also approved the accession of Russia and Samoa to the WTO – a decision that will be formally taken at the 8th ministerial conference. In addition, the member states’ representatives approved the signing of four bilateral agreements with Russia as part of Moscow’s protocol of accession to the WTO: tariff rate quotas on wood exports from Russia; compensation mechanism on motor vehicle parts and components imports from the EU; preservation of commitments on trade in services contained in the EU-Russia partnership and cooperation agreement; and the introduction or increase by Russia of export duties on raw materials.

The ministers also approved the granting by the WTO conference of “a waiver enabling WTO members to give preferential treatment to services and service suppliers of least developed countries” and adopted a regulation that imposes anti-dumping duty on seamless pipes and tubes of stainless steel originating in China.