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Friday, 26.04.2024, 00:38
MFA: EU free trade agreements helped Latvia to boost exports to South Korea
The Foreign
Ministry's Parliamentary Secretary, Zanda
Kalnina-Lukasevica, represented Latvia at the meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs
Council - Trade in Brussels on Friday at which the first comprehensive
assessment of the implementation of EU free trade agreements and the report's
conclusions and proposals on how to promote a more active use of trade
opportunities were presented, the ministry said.
Kalnina-Lukasevica said that Latvia's export to South
Korea had increased from EUR 9.5 million in 2010 to EUR 48 million in 2016,
while import over the same period had grown at a much lower rate.
The European Commission (EC) concludes in its report
that lack of awareness is one of the reasons for the low take up of the free
trade agreements. Therefore it is essential to ensure that information on trade
opportunities with third countries is of high quality and given in
comprehensible terms. Both the EC and the Member States should contribute to
this process.
"For the business community to make better use of
the free trade agreements, the European Commission should focus more on
dissemination of information concerning the simplification of trade
rules," the Latvian Foreign Ministry representative said.
Recent improvements to the section on the EU and
Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) in the EU Market
Access Database, which now includes a more comprehensive information on changes
in export procedures to Canada, is a positive and welcome step, she said. At
the same time, the EC should continue working to improve the database also in
regard to other EU trade agreements.
At the Council meeting, Trade Commissioner Cecilia
Malmstrom brought the participants up-to-date on trade negotiations with Japan,
expressing hope that a final deal will be reached by the end of the year. Japan
is the EU's second largest trade partner in Asia, and the signing of such an
agreement will strengthen economic links with Japan and Asia as a whole.
Following the Trade Commissioner's presentation on the
state of play in trade talks with Mexico and Mercosur, the Member States,
including Latvia, stressed the need for considering the interests of the EU's
sensitive business sectors.
The Council then discussed the EU's position and
priorities at the Eleventh WTO Ministerial Conference in Buenos Aires,
Argentina. Kalnina-Lukasevica noted in the discussion that the EU should
continue working proactively in order to achieve an agreement on concrete
initiatives in fisheries and agriculture at the WTO Ministerial Conference. It
is also essential for Latvia that the conference focuses on the organization's
role in the matters of e-commerce and a more effective operation of small and
medium sized enterprises in international markets, she said, highlighting the
importance of the WTO's work being in line with current reality and opening new
opportunities for our businessmen.