EU External Trade

News and information about the European Union's trade policy.

The EU's Trade Relationship with the United States — 08 July 2011, 17:17 CET

The European Union and the United States have the largest bilateral trade relationship in the world. The size and importance of these trade ties make the EU and the US the key players in the global trading system.

The EU's Trade Relationship with Japan — 08 July 2011, 16:02 CET

As a highly developed economy and major global trader and investor, Japan is an important partner for the EU. Japan is the world's third largest national economy, accounting for around 1.9% of the world population and around 9% of world GDP.

The EU's Trade Relationship with Turkey — 20 July 2009, 12:20 CET

The EU and Turkey are linked by a Customs Union agreement, which came in force on 31 December 1995, pursuant to the 1963 EU-Turkey Association Agreement, which aims at promoting trade and economic relations. The Customs Union is ambitious but does not cover essential economic areas, such as agriculture, to which bilateral trade concessions apply, services or public procurement. Turkey has been a candidate country since 1999.

The EU's Trade Relationship with China — 08 July 2011, 15:52 CET

China is the single most important challenge for EU trade policy. China has re-emerged as the world's third economy and the biggest exporter in the global economy, but also an increasingly important political power. EU-China trade has increased dramatically in recent years. China is now the EU's 2nd trading partner behind the USA and the EU's biggest source of imports by far. The EU is also China's biggest trading partner.

The EU's Trade Relationship with Russia — 08 July 2011, 17:08 CET

The European Union and the Russian Federation have a strong trade relationship. Bilateral trade and investments continue to grow rapidly. Russia is one of the EU's key trading partners and trade between the two economies has showed steep growth rates until mid 2008. This trend was interrupted by the economic crisis and the unilateral measures adopted by Russia which have affected our bilateral trade.

EU requests WTO consultations on Chinese export restrictions on raw materials - briefing — 23 June 2009, 16:05 CET

China applies export restrictions - quotas and export duties - on key raw materials. The European Commission says these restrictions distort competition and increase global prices, as some of these resources cannot be found elsewhere. Downstream industries in China therefore have access to cheaper materials than their competitors outside China. That is not a level playing field, and the EU and U.S. have asked for consultations with China at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Trade Barriers Regulation report on US Internet gambling laws - briefing — 10 June 2009, 23:50 CET

The European Commission published on 10 June a report on US laws on remote gambling and their enforcement against EU companies. This report is the outcome of an investigation into United States measures affecting foreign suppliers of Internet gambling services. The report concludes that the US measures constitute an obstacle to trade that is inconsistent with WTO rules. As a result, WTO proceedings would be justified. At the same time, the report suggests that the issue should be addressed with the US Administration, with a view to finding a negotiated solution.

EC Communication on Fair Trade — 07 May 2009, 16:35 CET

Contributing to Sustainable Development: The role of Fair Trade and non-governmental trade-related sustainability assurance schemes - COMMUNICATION FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE COUNCIL, THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE - COM(2009) 215 final

EU - US provisional agreement in beef dispute - briefing — 06 May 2009, 23:49 CET

Today the European Commission and the United States agreed in principle on a way forward in the long-running dispute over hormone-treated beef.

Euro-Mediterranean Partnership — 21 April 2009, 16:03 CET

The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership, formerly known as the Barcelona Process, was re-launched in 2008 as the Union for the Mediterranean at the Paris Summit for the Mediterranean in July, with the new network of relations endorsed at the Marseille Meeting of the Euro-Mediterranean Ministers of Foreign Affairs in November. The Partnership now includes all 27 EU member states of the European Union, along with 16 partners across the Southern Mediterranean and the Middle East.

EU-US Trade and Investment - briefing — 18 March 2009, 23:12 CET

Facts and figures on Trade and Investment between the European Union and the United States.

EU Services Directive — 13 November 2008, 14:47 CET

The objective of the European Union Services Directive is to achieve a genuine Internal Market in services by removing legal and administrative barriers to the development of service activities between EU Member States.

European trade strengths in a changing global economy: EC report — 28 October 2008, 12:28 CET

A new report by the European Commission assesses the competitiveness of the European Union in the global economy at the end of a decade of rapid economic change. Since the mid-1990s, there has been a major redistribution of market share between emerging and developed countries and among developed countries themselves. In this highly competitive environment, the EU has broadly maintained its world market share, while the US and Japan have lost ground. The EU remains the world's biggest exporter of manufactured goods, and dominates markets for high-quality products. The report warns, however, that the EU must focus on investment in its high-technology manufacturing and continue to improve its market share in the fast growing economies of Asia. The report reinforces the economic arguments behind the launch of the European Commission's Global Europe trade policy framework in 2006.

European trade strengths in a changing global economy - briefing — 28 October 2008, 12:42 CET

A report published on 27 October 2008 by the European Commission has assessed the competitiveness of the European Union in the global economy at the end of a decade of rapid economic change. Since the mid-1990s, there has been a major redistribution of market share between emerging and developed countries and among developed countries themselves. In this highly competitive environment, the EU has broadly maintained its world market share, while the US and Japan have lost ground. The EU remains the world's biggest exporter of manufactured goods, and dominates markets for high-quality products. The report warns, however, that the EU needs to focus on investment in its high-technology manufacturing and continue to improve its market share in the fast growing economies of Asia. The report reinforces the economic arguments behind the launch of the European Commission's Global Europe trade policy framework in 2006.

Africa, Caribbean, Pacific - Cariforum - Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) — 16 October 2008, 00:43 CET

The European Union and countries of the Caribbean region signed on 15 October 2008 an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which will strengthen ties between the two regions and promote regional integration in the Caribbean.

EU - Caribbean Economic Partnership Agreement - briefing — 15 October 2008, 22:19 CET

The European Union and countries of the Caribbean region have today signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which will strengthen ties between the two regions and promote regional integration in the Caribbean. The EPA is the first genuinely comprehensive North-South trade and development agreement in the global economy. It includes a package of measures to stimulate trade, investment and innovation, and to promote sustainable development, build a regional market among Caribbean countries and help eliminate poverty.

EU-China trade in facts and figures — 23 September 2008, 15:04 CET

China is now the third biggest national exporter in the global economy after Germany and the US. China now accounts for about 8 % of all imports and 12% of all exports in world trade in goods. More than half of China's exports are currently capitalised by foreign companies. Most of this capitalisation comes from neighbouring Asian companies in Japan and South Korea. 8% of it is European.

Information Technology Agreement (ITA) — 15 September 2008, 21:21 CET

The European Commission presented on 15 September at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) its proposal to update and expand the Information Technology Agreement (ITA), an existing trade deal between some of the world's biggest trade powers that lowers the cost of IT products. The proposal would take account of new products that have entered the market since the agreement was originally concluded in 1996, eliminating customs duties for these goods. Further points considered are tackling non-tariff barriers "behind the border", as well as the problems caused by the non-functioning of some of the mechanisms and procedures provided for in the current ITA. The Commission hopes that other WTO members will engage in discussions in the near future.

European Committee for Standardisation — 05 August 2008, 15:57 CET

CEN, the European Committee for Standardization, was founded in 1961 by the national standards bodies in the European Economic Community and EFTA countries. Now CEN is contributing to the objectives of the European Union and European Economic Area - with voluntary technical standards which promote free trade, the safety of workers and consumers, interoperability of networks, environmental protection, exploitation of research and development programmes, and public procurement. CEN is a non-profit making technical organization set up under Belgian law.

Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) 2009-2011 - guide — 24 July 2008, 22:00 CET

The Generalised System of Preferences scheme - The GSP is an autonomous trade arrangement through which the EU provides non-reciprocal preferential access to the EU market to 176 developing countries and territories, in the form of reduced tariffs for their goods when entering the EU market.

EU-Mediterranean Trade — 02 July 2008, 16:38 CET

Trade relations between the EU and the neighbouring Southern Mediterranean (MED) countries are governed by the Euro-Mediterranean Partnership (also referred to as the Barcelona Process), which was launched in November 1995. The partner countries are Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Syria, Tunisia and the Palestinian Authority, as well as Turkey.

EU-US Trade and Investment — 10 June 2008, 21:07 CET

The European Union and the United States form the largest bilateral trade partnership in the world if you look at goods and services combined. Goods trade alone in 2007 amounted to over EUR 440 billion.

2007 customs seizures of counterfeit goods - guide — 19 May 2008, 13:20 CET

Statistics just published by the European Commission relating to counterfeit and piracy show a significant increase in customs activity last year. In 2007, customs registered over 43,000 cases of fake goods seized at the EU's external border, compared to 37,000 in 2006. This results notably from improved cooperation between customs and industry, enabling customs to better target suspected shipments and to recognize counterfeit goods. Despite this, the number of articles seized decreased from last year's peak of 128 million articles to around 79 million. This is due to a growing number of seizures involving smaller quantities of counterfeit and pirated articles. However, cigarettes and clothing continue to be faked in large quantities and there has been a worrying increase in sectors that are potentially dangerous to consumers (medicines, electrical equipment, personal care products).

EU - Latin America / Caribbean trade facts and figures — 14 May 2008, 23:27 CET

The EU is the second economic partner for Latin America-Caribbean region. Bilateral trade amounts around EUR 160 billion annually. In 2007 the EU represented around 14% of Latin American exports. For the Caribbean the EU is even more important as an export destination with 19% of products shipped to the EU. These numbers are constantly rising.

Counterfeiting and Piracy conference, 13 May 2008 - guide — 13 May 2008, 23:59 CET

The High Level Conference on Counterfeiting and Piracy has been organised by the European Commission, with the aim of providing a platform for Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) and major stakeholders, representing business, public administrations and civil society, to discuss the most important aspects of counterfeiting and piracy, exchange views and experiences and explore possible practical measures to enhance the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.