WTO Members
Consider Six Regional Trade Agreements
·
Economic Partnership Arrangement between Hong Kong, China
and Macao, China
·
Chile-Thailand Free Trade Agreement
·
China-Georgia Free Trade Agreement
·
Georgia-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Free Trade Agreement
WTO members reviewed six regional trade agreements (RTAs) at
a meeting of the Committee on RTAs on 1 April 2019. The new chair of the Committee,
Ambassador Carlos Mario Foradori of Argentina, presided
at this first Committee meeting of 2019.
The Committee is important to the functioning of the WTO, Ambassador
Foradori said, adding that he would hold consultations
to appoint a vice-chair to add greater momentum to the work of the Committee. The
chair said he aims to help resolve the Committee's longstanding issues, noting later
in the meeting the backlog of RTA notifications and considerations.
Consideration
of RTAs
The Committee considered the Closer Economic Partnership
Arrangement between Hong Kong, China and Macao, China, which immediately liberalized
all bilateral trade in goods on 1 January 2018. The two parties also improved the
coverage and the depth of their commitments on trade in services. Hong Kong, China
said the Agreement provides the framework for economic cooperation conducive for
long-term economic growth of the two parties. Macao, China added that Hong Kong,
China was a key trade and investment partner and that the Agreement would contribute
positively to their bilateral relationship.
As for the Chile-Thailand Free Trade Agreement, Chile will eliminate
duties on all imports from Thailand while Thailand will do the same on 99% of tariff
lines by 2023. Both countries will also liberalize a number of services sectors.
Chile said bilateral trade has expanded and Thailand has become a main destination
for Chilean exports to Southeast Asia under the Agreement, which entered into force
on 5 November 2015. Thailand said it strongly believes bilateral trade will continue
to grow over the years.
The Committee also reviewed the China-Georgia Free Trade Agreement,
under which Georgia will liberalize 96.4% of tariff lines on imports from China
while China will liberalize 93.7%. Georgia noted that negotiations for the Agreement,
which entered into force on 1 January 2018, took seven months and that it was the
only country in the Eurasian region to have a preferential agreement with China.
The Agreement brings together the economies of the two countries despite their differing
development models and size, Georgia said. China said the goods and services agreement
has deepened the economic relations of the two parties in a mutually beneficial
manner.
The Georgia-European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Free Trade
Agreement, meanwhile, entered into force on 1 September 2017 for Georgia with Iceland
and Norway and on 1 May 2018 with Liechtenstein and Switzerland. It liberalized
around 90% of trade in goods among the parties, including significant agricultural
liberalization. The parties' commitments on trade in services broadly match their
existing services commitments at the WTO, with some improvements in certain sub-sectors.
Moreover, the Agreement includes provisions on intellectual property, government
procurement, competition and trade and sustainable development. Switzerland on behalf
of the EFTA states said it was indeed a comprehensive and modern trade agreement.
Members also considered the accession of Panama to the Central
American Common Market (CACM). Panama's accession to the Central American Common
Market in 2013 paved the way for it to eliminate duties on at least 95% of trade
from the other parties in different years between 2013 and 2028. With the objective
to achieve a common commercial policy, Panama also adopted the Central American
common external tariff on 30% of lines. Guatemala, speaking for itself and Costa
Rica, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama said the CACM's objective is to
increase the competitiveness of the region. The accession of Panama is highly significant
for the region, Guatemala said, as it improves access for Central American traders,
and fosters investment.
As for the Accession of Ecuador to the Trade Agreement between
the European Union, Colombia and Peru, the EU said the Agreement is tailored to the development needs of Ecuador and that already
remarkable results of trade expansion and enhanced trade facilitation have been
observed under the Agreement. Ecuador said non-oil exports have increased under
the Agreement while its industries have enjoyed better access to imports of EU machinery
and parts. Ecuador joined the Agreement between the European Union and Colombia
and Peru covering goods and services in 2017. The EU and Ecuador will eliminate
all duties on around 97% of lines by 2027 and 2034 respectively. The Agreement also
improves the services commitments of both parties in a number of sectors.
Members took the opportunity to ask questions and comment on
the RTAs under consideration. Some of the RTAs, it was noted,
went deeper than existing WTO rules in the areas of domestic regulation, customs
procedures, trade facilitation and e-commerce.
Improving
transparency
The chair told members that the list of RTAs currently in force
but that have not been notified to the WTO has grown to 83, with the addition of
four more RTAs since the last Committee meeting in November 2018. The chair further
noted that factual presentations for 19 RTAs involving only WTO members and those
for a further 28 RTAs involving non-members remain pending, counting goods and services
agreements separately.
·
The United States said members should take
the list seriously while the EU and China also underlined the importance of improving
members' compliance with transparency obligations. Parties to the Gulf Cooperation
Council customs union and the Latin American Integration Association (LAIA) were asked again by the US and EU to respond to questions about
pending work concerning their respective RTAs.