Europarlement steunt handelsovereenkomsten met India en Japan onder voorwaarden (en)

Met dank overgenomen van Europees Parlement (EP) i, gepubliceerd op woensdag 11 mei 2011, 13:23.

Japan needs to reduce its non-trade barriers further before negotiations for a free trade agreement can begin, and the free trade agreement being negotiated with India should be finalised by the end of the year, say MEPs.

Parliament's resolution on EU-Japan trade, passed by a show of hands, backs a free trade agreement. However, it also states MEPs' dissatisfaction with the "negligible progress in the High Level Group," which has been holding informal negotiations on removing some existing barriers to trade for several years. Parliament makes it clear that "significant commitments on removing non-trade barriers and obstacles to access to Japanese public procurement" are needed before any negotiations for a free-trade agreement can begin.

In addition, MEPs also argue for that a safeguard clause should be included in any future agreement, especially in sensitive sectors such as the automotive, electronics, aviation and machinery industries.

India

MEPs are disappointed by the slow progress in negotiations for an EU-India free trade agreement, and call on both parties to finish the work by the end of the year. In a resolution passed with 390 votes in favour, 276 against and 10 abstentions, they note that the overarching goal of the agreement should be full reciprocal duty elimination for all industrial goods, including sensitive sectors such as passenger cars.  Parliament also says the agreement should include a chapter on investment, and advocates a compromise to allow essential generic medicines to continue to reach those in need, whilst also setting up a strong intellectual property rights regime to protect patents. The resolution also calls on the Commission to include legally-binding human rights, environmental and social clauses in the agreement.

Background

EU-Japan trade is worth €120 billion per year, and an EU-Japan summit will be held in Brussels at the end of this month.

India is the leading beneficiary of the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP), which allows developing countries to export goods to the EU at preferential tariff rates. Negotiations for a free trade Agreement were launched in June 2007.