Can AFTA Include Europe?

The EU is in talks with a number of nations in ASEAN to set up Free Trade Agreements. Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said Wednesday it will commence negotiations with the European Union on a free trade agreement this month. The first round of negotiations is scheduled to take place March 8 to March 12 in Singapore.

EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Singapore Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang met Wednesday to officially launch negotiations. “The proposed free-trade agreement will strengthen economic ties between Singapore and the EU, provide new opportunities for traders and consumers alike, and contribute to generating growth in our economies,” De Gucht said.

“For Europe, it will also mark an important stepping stone in the EU’s engagement with the Asean region.”

Trade between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) and the EU rose by 25 percent between 2004 and 2008 to 175 billion Euros annually. Though ASEAN is EU’s largest trade partner after the US and China, initial efforts by the EU to launch negotiations on a free trade agreement with ASEAN as a whole have been unsuccesful.

According to De Gucht, negotiations with ASEAN as a bloc were not feasible because of the different levels of development of the member countries’ economies. The European Union, he said, would focus on trade agreements with individual countries instead . De Gucht is also travelling to Singapore on Wednesday to launch further negotiations for free trade agreements.

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