Competitiveness concerns have returned to EU discourses. The warning signals concerning the EU’s economic underperformance are growing, notably from Germany, where the EU’s main economic engine for the European Union is slowing down. To add to these grim overall macroeconomic trends, there are also growing clouds on the trade horizon: war, geopolitical tensions, the Red Sea disruptions, the fragmentation of global supply chains, the growing barriers in digital trade, and the list could go on.
It is in these circumstances that the Europeans will go to the polls in June 2024, and that a new leadership for the European Council presidency and a new European Commission president and college will be nominated this autumn.
This ESF Paper aims to outline the priorities of the European services industries for the next five years in international trade and investment issues.
The EU needs:
- to pursue an active Open Trade Policy, oriented on improving market access for services businesses in a larger number of trading partners and refrain from protectionist policies;
- to remain the main supporter of the multilateral trading system and engage constructively in keeping the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as the guarantor of the global rules for international trade. ESF urges the European Union’s institutions:
- to continue to push towards the reform of the WTO, and in particular its unique Dispute Settlement Mechanism;
- to keep as its highest priority the extension of the Moratorium on Customs Duties on Electronic Transmissions, including for MC14.
- to support for an early harvest for a JSI on E-Commerce agreement with review clause and continuation of the talks on critical issues.
- To pursue its leading role in finding a solution to integrate plurilateral trade agreements like the Investment Facilitation for Development (IFD) and the Joint Statement Initiative on E-Commerce into the WTO core rules.
- To call to renew the GATS market access negotiations or Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) negotiations.
- To pursue an offensive and positive policy towards more bilateral trade agreements. To that effect, ESF calls upon the EU:
- to urgently ratify the trade agreements that it concluded;
- to conclude on-going FTA negotiations and to speed up the ratification process as soon as the talks concluded;
- to launch new FTA negotiations with countries that are important for the services sectors;
- to improve the EU-USA trade relationship;
- to find a new venue to engage with China;
- to prepare itself for the review of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA – due to start in May 2026);
- to improve EU-Africa trade relationship in services trade.
- To explore alternative solutions when necessary to move the trade agenda forward:
- to pursue negotiations of Digital Partnership Agreements and in particular digital trade agreements on cross border data flows;
- to launch trade in goods and services negotiations at multilateral, plurilateral or bilateral level that include market access commitments;
- to pursue ambitious trade and sustainable development objectives, by better including partners through mutual active cooperation.
- To strengthen the negotiating branch of DG Trade and ensure leadership in world trade policy with a strong and fully dedicated European Trade Commissioner.
Source: European Services Forum