He’s not even as big as Hamburg and is still among the richest countries of the world: The city-state of Singapore is also for the comparatively huge EU a highly attractive trading partner.
A Pact should now make things a lot easier: The European Parliament has approved the controversial free trade agreement with Singapore. Around two-thirds of the members in Strasbourg. “This is the first bilateral trade agreement with the European Union with a Southeast Asian country, a building block for a closer relationship between Europe and one of the most dynamic regions of the world,” said EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
Juncker is likely to be relieved that this hurdle is finally taken. Finally, the draft contract is for nearly four and a half years, ready for a vote In October 2014, the negotiations were completed. And since the 19th century. October 2018 signed free trade agreement (EUSFTA) and the investment agreement (EUSIPA) between the EU and Singapore. Now, the Council, the member States must approve the Pact. About two months later, the agreement can enter into force.
A model for agreements with ASEAN
It is the first bilateral trade and investment treaties between the EU and a member state of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and you should also be a model for similar agreements with other Asian countries. Finally, it is the declared objective of the EU, a trade and investment agreement with the entire ASEAN.
Within five years, the EU abolished tariffs for Goods from Singapore. Conversely, the duties are to be eliminated, exports to the EU, for example, for beer,. In addition, in Singapore, in the future, the EU will be recognised-standards and safety tests, including in the areas of electronics, pharmaceuticals and auto parts.
“In Southeast Asia, the music is currently playing”
The German economy looks in the closer networking of Europe with the ASEAN a lot of chances. For the German chambers of industry and Commerce (DIHK) plays in Southeast Asia “currently, the cyclical music”. After the currently in force EU-Japan Pact, the agreement with Singapore was “an important building block for EU-Asia economic relations, through the ratification of the company from the removal of barriers to trade with high growth markets,” said DIHK foreign trade chief Volker Treier.
The overseas port of Singapore
The European Union is Singapore’s second largest trading partner for Goods and the largest for services. For the EU, Singapore is the leading trading partners for Goods on rank 14, and for services on the fourth place. More than 10,000 companies based in the EU to use Singapore as a hub for Southeast Asia.
No uniform attitude of the social Democrats
Why the implementation of the free trade agreement has taken so long to show the reactions of the critics: While the British Labour MEP David Martin as Rapporteur for the protection of the rights of workers and the environment, praised, criticised the Chairman of the trade Committee in the European Parliament, Bernd Lange (SPD), the government of Singapore had presented neither clear to the core standards of the International labour organization (ILO) announced a Plan to implement it. Therefore, the SPD had rejected closed to members of the European Parliament, the agreement. Social Democrats from other EU countries voted in favour.
The German Green Sven Giegold complained that the Treaty contained the Social and environmental standards to be binding. And the French socialist Eric Andrieu complained, Singapore have not ratified the ILO conventions on the abolition of forced labour and freedom of trade unions.
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China is pushing ahead with Asian free trade zone
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