EU may complete Singapore trade agreement in next few months: Update

The European Union and Singapore may complete discussions on a free-trade agreement in the next few months, said Rupert Schlegelmilch, the EU’s chief negotiator for the talks.

Areas that the two parties are still negotiating include tariffs, government procurement and investment, Schlegelmilch told reporters in Singapore today. The EU is Singapore’s second- largest trading partner with imports and exports of goods totaling a record $76.9 billion in 2010, he said.

 

“We can do better and one way is to advance this FTA,” Schlegelmilch said. “There is clear potential to further liberalize trade between the EU and Singapore.”

 

Some nations are seeking their own free-trade agreements as the World Trade Organization’s Doha round of global talks remains unfinished after almost a decade. Singapore has free- trade accords with countries including the U.S., China, Australia, Japan and India.

 

The city state is negotiating agreements with Canada, Mexico, Pakistan and Ukraine. Singapore’s exports are forecast by the government to grow in 2011 at less than half of the pace last year, when overseas shipments jumped the most since 2003.

 

The EU will implement a free-trade agreement with South Korea next month, the world’s second biggest after the North American Free Trade Agreement between the U.S., Canada and Mexico. The EU expects one pending free-trade agreement to be completed this year and the rest in 2012 and 2013, Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht said in May.