VII Legislature No. 35 - May 24, 2013
Newsletter of the European Parliament Committee on International Trade
This issue's highlights
- Opening of negotiations on a Plurilateral Agreement on Services
- Jointly with WTO-PC Steering committee - Update on recent developments at the WTO & The Future of Trade: The Challenges of Convergence
- INTA discusses 2013-2014 Work Programme with Commissioner De Gucht
- Votes on the Interim EPA with Cameroon
- Exchange of views with the Ambassador of Singapore to the EU
Editorial: Alberto Rodas Gonzalez Coordination: Leon Peijnenburg (tel 2 28 32345), Lenka Dubarre (Tel 2 28 31734) Contributions: INTA secretariat, Chairman’s Office, Policy Department, EP Library, DG Trade
Legal disclaimer The content of the newsletter is drafted by the INTA Secretariat and is provided for general information purposes only. The content is only indicative and subject to changes. The Newsletter may contain links to websites that are created and maintained by other organizations. The INTA Secretariat does not necessarily endorse the views expressed on these websites.
Content
1. Exchange of views on the Parliament's priorities for the Budget 2014 with Anne E. Jensen, rapporteur in the Committee on Budgets ...... 3 2. 2014 Budget - Mandate for the Trilogue ...... 3 3. Amendment to the fuel quality directive and the renewable energy directive ...... 3 4. Exercise of the Union's rights for the application and enforcement of international trade rules ...... 4 5. Reindustrialising Europe to promote competitiveness and sustainability ...... 4 6. EU-Mexico Economic and Trade Relations ...... 4 7. Delegation to United States (Washington, D.C.), 8-12 April 2013 ...... 5 8. State of play of ongoing trilogue negotiations ...... 5 9. Collective management of copyright s ...... 5 10. EU-Malaysia partnership and cooperation agreement ...... 6 11. First annual report on the activities of Member States' Export Credit Agencies...... 6 12. Stepping-stone Economic Partnership Agreement between the EC and Central Africa ...... 6 13. State of Play on WTO accessions ...... 7 14. Market surveillance of products ...... 7 15. State of play of negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) ...... 7 16. Opening of negotiations on a Plurilateral Agreement on Services ...... 7 17. Votes ...... 8 18. EC-Uzbekistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to bilateral trade in textiles ...... 8 19. FTA negotiations between the EU and Thailand and trade relations ...... 9 20. Monitoring Groups Activities ...... 9 21. CARIFORUM - EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Meeting ...... 9
1. EU-Singapore Trade Relations ...... 10 2. Collective management of copyright ...... 10 3. Sale of tobacco and related products ...... 10 4. Implementation of the Communication on the internationalisation of SMEs ...... 11 5. Access of third-country goods and services to the Union’s internal market in public procurement 11 6. Trade arrangements to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products ...... 11 7. First annual report on the activities of Member States' Export Credit Agencies...... 12 8. Stepping-stone Economic Partnership Agreement between the EC and Central Africa ...... 12 9. Amendment of Council Decision 2000/125/EC ('parallel agreement') ...... 12 10. Amendment of Decision 97/836/EC ('revised 1958 Agreement') ...... 12 11. Opening of negotiations on a Plurilateral Agreement on Services ...... 12 12. 2014 Budget - Mandate for the Trilogue ...... 12 13. EU-Malaysia partnership and cooperation agreement ...... 13 14. Consumer product safety ...... 13 15. Agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors...... 13 16. Amendment to the fuel quality directive and the renewable energy directive ...... 13 17. Commission Work Programme for 2013 and 2014 (structured dialogue) ...... 14 18. Update on recent developments at the WTO ...... 14 19. The Future of Trade: The Challenges of Convergence ...... 14
1 20. CARS 2020: towards a strong, competitive and sustainable European car industry...... 14 21. CARIFORUM - EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Meeting ...... 15 22. State of play of ongoing trilogue negotiations ...... 15 23. Monitoring Groups Activities ...... 15
State-of-play of ongoing negotiations ...... 16 State of play on Trade Defence Instruments ...... 16 WTO Dispute settlement ...... 17 Meetings held during weeks 17-20 ...... 17
Briefing notes & studies by the Policy department ...... 18 Upcoming workshops ...... 18 Library briefings ...... 18 New books in the Library reading room collection (available for loan) ...... 19 Library weekly newsletter on International Trade ...... 19 Press releases ...... 20 Important Meetings and Events ...... 20 Useful links ...... 21 Calendar of committee's meetings for 2013 ...... 21
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The previous meetings of the Committee on International Trade took place Wednesday 24 April 2013, 9.00 - 12.30 and 15.00 - 18.30 and on Thursday 25 April 2013, 9.00 - 12.30 in Brussels. The following items were on the agenda.
1. Exchange of views on the Parliament's priorities for the Budget 2014 with Anne E. Jensen, rapporteur in the Committee on Budgets 2. 2014 Budget - Mandate for the Trilogue Joint debate Ms Jensen presented the very particular context of this 2014 Budget: the doubts over the legacy of the last MFF, the agreement on the next MFF which the Parliament wishes to see reopen, and the overall difficult times for the EU economy. On the side of the INTA Members, two points were particularly mentioned: the possibility to reallocate part of the Commission's funding towards trade policy in order to ensure that the ambitious negotiating agenda for the Commission can be fulfilled and the possibility to develop a project fostering EU civil society's involvement in the monitoring of the EU trade policy.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Peter Šťastný (EPP) Cons. of draft opinion: 24-25/4/2013 Responsible administrator: Nicolas Dorgeret Deadline for Ams: 26/4/2013, 18.00 Procedure: 2013/2017(BUD) - INTA/7/11868 Planned adoption in INTA: 27-28/5/2013 Lead committee: BUDG Planned adoption in plenary: Jul-13 Related documents can be found here
3. Amendment to the fuel quality directive and the renewable energy directive (Indirect Land Use Change) Consideration of draft opinion The Committee has considered the draft opinion by rapporteur Ms. Josefa Andrés Barea (S&D) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Directive 98/70/EC relating to the quality of petrol and diesel fuels and amending Directive 2009/28/EC on the promotion of the use of energy from renewable sources (so called "ILUC" directive) containing 11 amendments.
Issues raised in the debate contained the necessity of ensuring legal certainty for businesses involved; need to be able to adjust the list of subsidised products by adding and removing them, transition period between 1st and 2nd generation of biofuels, threats for food security caused by crops for biofuels, and alternative solutions. There were also calls to revisit the whole concept of biofuels.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Josefa Andrés Barea (S&D) Exchange of views: 20-21/3/2013 Responsible administrator: Lucrezia Tuis/ Miriam Consideration of draft opinion: 24-25/4/2013 Korteweg Procedure: 2012/0288(COD) - INTA/7/11010 Deadline for Ams: 3/5/2013, 12.00 Lead committee: ENVI Consideration of Ams: 27-28/5/2013 Planned vote in INTA: 17-18/6/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents can be found here
3 4. Exercise of the Union's rights for the application and enforcement of international trade rules First exchange of views Based on a working document drafted by the rapporteur, Mr Niccolo Rinaldi (ALDE), the Committee held a first exchange of views with the participation of four stakeholders on "Enforcement Regulation". This Commission's proposal would provide the Union with a swift instrument designed to conduct counter- measures (retaliation) in the event of unfair trade practices taken in a third country, when international dispute settlements bodies authorised the Union to do so.
The testimonies made by stakeholders - respectively Mr. Sylvain Lambert, Vice-President Head of Public Affairs France, EU and international organisations, Mr. Karl Tachelet, Director International Affairs (EUROFER), Mr. Ulrich Paetzold, Director General, European Construction Industry Federation (FIEC), and Pascal Kerneis, Managing Director, European Services Forum (ESF) - provided Members with very concrete examples and precise information regarding needs from European businesses in the matter.
Among the various questions brought up by the practitioners, the feasibility of having services included into the array of counter-measures at the disposal of the European Union to react swiftly against unfair trade actions was discussed at length, especially since WTO Dispute Settlement Understanding permits cross- retaliation in other sector and agreements, and GATS allows, at least theoretically, retaliation in services. Other issues raised concerned the involvement of the Parliament into the decision-making procedure and the definition of the Union's interests based on which the Commission would choose a particular sector and agreement where to conduct possible counter-measures.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Niccolò Rinaldi (ALDE) Exchange of views: 24-25/4/2013 Responsible administrator: Rémi Piérot Cons. of a draft report: 17-18/06/2013 Procedure: 2012/0359(COD) - INTA/7/11538 Deadline for Ams: 19/6/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: INTA Planned adoption in INTA: 10-11/7/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents can be found here.
5. Reindustrialising Europe to promote competitiveness and sustainability Consideration of draft opinion The draft opinion raised some questions as to how far the EU trade policy can go towards reindustrialization Europe or whether the industrial policy should rely first and foremost on domestic reforms and further public intervention in support of companies. The debate also touched upon whether legislative initiatives proposed by the Commission in the field of public procurement and trade defence instruments are likely to improve or not the business environment for EU companies in competition with third countries' companies.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Marielle de Sarnez (ALDE) Exchange of views: 20-21/2/2013 Responsible administrator: Nicolas Dorgeret Cons. of a draft opinion: 24-25/4/2013 Procedure: 2013/2006(INI) - INTA/7/11640 Deadline for Ams: 10/5/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: ITRE Planned adoption in INTA: 17-18/6/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: Oct-13 Related documents can be found here
6. EU-Mexico Economic and Trade Relations This exchange of views was postponed.
4 7. Delegation to United States (Washington, D.C.), 8-12 April 2013
INTA was debriefed about the INTA delegation visit to Washington, D.C. Over three days (9-11 April) of meetings, the delegation of 10 Members met the Members of US Congress (both House and Senate side, including the members of the House Ways and Means Committee Trade Subcommittee), US administration (including President Obama's advisor Mike Froman, Deputy USTR Miriam Sapiro, as well as with State Department and Commerce Department), and business organisations and trade unions. The delegation was very timely and successful, focusing mainly on the upcoming TTIP negotiations.
8. State of play of ongoing trilogue negotiations Exchange of views Under regular item, the Committee was informed of the state of play of ongoing trilogue negotiations; in particular regarding MFA to Georgia (2010/0390(COD) (third reading) on which the trilogue was held on 16 April in Strasbourg.
Following the plenary adoption in second reading on 16 April 2013, the Regulation on "amending Annex I to Council Regulation (EC) No 1528/2007 as regards the exclusion of a number of countries from the list of regions or states which have concluded negotiations", the so called Market access regulation, was signed on Tuesday 21, May 2013 in Strasbourg by Mr Schulz, President of the Parliament, and by Ms Lucinda Creighton, Minister for European Affairs in the presence of Vital Moreira (Chairman of INTA) and David Martin (S&D), the rapporteur.
9. Collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal markets Consideration of draft opinion INTA has considered a draft opinion by rapporteur Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL) on the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market (so called "Collective Rights Management Directive") containing 15 amendments. These aim to achieve more transparency, protection of authors, and non-discrimination of collecting societies established in the EU compared to their counterparts abroad. The debate covered also importance of swift payments to authors.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL) Exchange of views: 20-21/3/2013 Responsible administrator: Miriam Korteweg Consideration of a draft opinion: 24-25/4/2013 Procedure: 2012/0180(COD) - INTA/7/11465 Deadline for Ams: 3/5/2013, 12.00 Lead committee: JURI Consideration of Ams: 27-28/5/2013 Planned adoption in INTA: 17-18/6/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents can be found here.
5 10. Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the negotiations for an EU-Malaysia partnership and cooperation agreement Consideration of draft opinion INTA coordinators have decided to contribute to the proposed report by AFET on the trade chapter of the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement. The discussion in INTA also touched upon human rights and social/labour standards in Malaysia, access to medicines and access to raw materials, while protecting fauna and flora, deforestation issues and religious policies.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Niccolo Rinaldi (ALDE) Consideration of draft opinion: 24-25/4/2013 Responsible administrator: Miriam Korteweg Deadline for Ams: 3/5/2013, 12.00 Procedure: 2013/2052(INI) - INTA/7/12226 Planned vote in INTA: 27-28/5/2013 Lead committee: AFET Planned adoption plenary: Sep-13 Related documents can be found here.
11. First annual report from the Commission to the European Parliament on the activities of Member States' Export Credit Agencies Consideration of draft report The draft report by Yannick Jadot (Greens) suggested that Member State's export credit programmes of the Member States constitute an important instrument to enhance trade and business opportunities for European companies. The draft called for compliance with the Union’s external action goals, such as consolidating democracy, respect for human rights and policy coherence for development, and the fight against climate change. According to the rapporteur, at the present stage the reporting does not give sufficient information on the situation. On the other hand, the rapporteur applauded the efforts undertaken by the Commission aiming to engage China, Brazil, Russia and other major emerging economies in discussion on common rules on export finance.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Yannick Jadot (Greens) Exchange of views: 20-21/2/2013 & 20-21/3/2013 Responsible administrator: Heikki Suortti Cons. of draft report: 24-25/4/2013 Procedure: 2012/2320(INI) - INTA/7/11265 Deadline for Ams: 6/5/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: INTA Planned adoption in INTA: 27-28/5/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: Jul-13 Related documents can be found here
12. Stepping-stone Economic Partnership Agreement between the EC and Central Africa Consideration of draft recommendation
Trade MEPs discussed a draft report recommending the EP to give consent to the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA), signed by the EU and Cameroon back in 2009. The underlying objectives of the Agreement include promotion of regional integration and good governance in the Central African region, with its gradual integration into the global economy, supported by accompanying development cooperation measures. Having enjoyed duty free quota free access to the EU market since 2008, Cameroon has committed to liberalising 80% of its imports over 15 years, excluding certain sensitive goods. Cameroon is the only Central African country that signed the interim agreement with the EU, which is currently negotiating a full regional EPA.
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PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: David Martin (S&D) Exchange of views: 20-21/2/2013 Responsible administrator: Mindaugas Kojelis Cons. of a draft report: 24-25/4/2013 Procedure: 2008/0139(NLE) - INTA/7/00113 Deadline for Ams: 26/4/2013, 12:00 Lead committee: INTA Planned adoption in INTA: 27-28/5/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: Jul-13 Related documents can be found here
13. State of Play on WTO accessions Presentation by the Commission A debate took place following a presentation by the Commission on recent and upcoming accessions to the World Trade Organisation, which currently has 159 members. A number of countries in the EU's neighbourhood are in the process of finalising their accession to the WTO, such as Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kazakhstan. Moreover, other countries such as Belarus and Algeria, have started to resume work on their eventual membership of the WTO.
14. Market surveillance of products Exchange of views INTA's draftsperson for the opinion, George Sabin Cutaş (S&D) made some initial remarks regarding the proposal for a regulation on market surveillance of product (amending various sector-specific Directives), for which IMCO Committee is the committee responsible. The discussion was rather short as the proposal seems not be extremely controversial within Parliament.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: George Sabin Cutaş (S&D) Exchange of views: 24-25/4/2013 Responsible administrator: Felix Lutz Consideration of draft opinion: 17-18/6/2013 Procedure: 2013/0048 (COD) - INTA/7/12004 Deadline for Ams: 24/6/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: IMCO Planned vote in INTA: 16-17/9/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents can be found here
15. State of play of negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TISA) In camera 16. Opening of negotiations on a Plurilateral Agreement on Services Consideration of draft motion for a resolution DG Trade of the Commission presented 'in camera' the state of play of negotiations after only one round. A similar debriefing should take place in June after the second round and before the third one. The consideration, in public, of the draft motion for resolution indicated a large support to the TiSA negotiations but some Members put the emphasis on their concerns regarding liberalisation of public services or audiovisual services and regulation of financial services.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Responsible administrator: Nicolas Dorgeret Cons. of draft motion for a resolution: 24-25/4/2013 Procedure: 2013/2583(RSP) - INTA/7/12248 Deadline for Ams: 6/5/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: INTA Planned vote in INTA: 27-28/5/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: Jun-13
7 17. Votes 1) Trade between the Community and third countries in drug precursors Rapporteur: Franck Proust (EPP)
in favour against abstentions Draft report as amended 22 3 2
2) EU-Canada Agreement on customs cooperation with respect to matters related to supply chain security Rapporteur: Peter Šťastný (EPP)
in favour against abstentions Draft recommendation (consent) 29 0 0
3) EU-Norway trade relations
in favour against abstentions Question for oral answer 25 4 1 Draft motion for a resolution as amended 25 5 0
4) Reinstatement of Myanmar/Burma's access to generalized tariff preferences
in favour against abstentions Draft motion for a resolution as amended 30 0 0
5) EU trade and investment agreement negotiations with the United States
in favour against abstentions Draft motion for a resolution as amended 23 5 1
18. Extension of the provisions of the EC-Uzbekistan Partnership and Cooperation Agreement to bilateral trade in textiles Exchange of views The Committee held its regular exchange of views to assess whether sufficient progress has been made in the fight against forced and child labour in cotton harvest in Uzbekistan for Parliament to give its consent to the EU Uzbekistan textiles protocol.
In order to get an update from the relevant monitoring body, the members listened to a presentation of the report of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions of the International Labour Organisation. ILO still observes big problems with forced and child labour in the country. Several Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) called for the start of an investigating temporary withdrawal of GSP trade preferences for Uzbekistan by the European Commission. In the INTA meeting, the Commission explained that in principle it did not favour a sanction based approach. But it acknowledged that if the situation did not change such an investigation might be the result.
INTA members very much regretted the absence of the ambassador of Uzbekistan (who decided not to accept the INTA invitation to the exchange of views).
INTA Members will be monitoring proceedings during the International Labour Conference of the ILO in Geneva in June. INTA Members hope that Uzbekistan will there clearly indicate its willingness to allow an ILO observer mission unhindered access during the autumn harvest.
8 19. FTA negotiations between the EU and Thailand and trade relations Exchange of views INTA exchanged views with a Delegation of Thailand's Parliamentary Committee on Economic Development on EU-Thailand trade relations. The Delegation included 7 Members of the Thai Parliament and their staff. The Chairman of the Thai Delegation raised concerns about the EU-Thailand FTA negotiations, in particular with regard to provisions on Intellectual property rights and investment protection. At the end of the meeting, a letter highlighting such concerns was handed over to Mr. Moreira.
20. Monitoring Groups Activities Exchange of views This item was postponed.
21. CARIFORUM - EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Meeting
This item was postponed.
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The next meeting of the Committee on International Trade is scheduled on Monday 27 May 2013, 15.00 - 18.30 and on Tuesday 28 May 2013, 9.00 - 12.30 and 15.30-19.00 in Brussels. The meeting will be webstreamed, except for the in camera items.
1. EU-Singapore Trade Relations
INTA will exchange views with H.E. Ong Eng Chuan, Ambassador of Singapore to the EU, on the status and next steps of the EU-Singapore FTA and on the trade relations between the two countries. After region-to- region negotiations on an EU-ASEAN FTA hit an impasse, the negotiations for an EU-Singapore FTA were launched in March 2010 and were completed in December 2012. The parties are now performing the legal scrubbing of the agreement to ensure the coherence of the agreed text and legal certainty. This FTA is of strategic importance as it may constitute a blueprint for future agreements with the ASEAN countries. This public exchange of views will feature a short speech by the Ambassador followed by questions and answers session with Members.
2. Collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market Consideration of amendments INTA will consider the 106 amendments tabled to the proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on collective management of copyright and related rights and multi-territorial licensing of rights in musical works for online uses in the internal market (so called "Collective Rights Management Directive"). The draft opinion by rapporteur Helmut Scholz (GUE/NGL) already contains 15 amendments.
Amongst other issues, the amendments introduce collective management organisations instead of collecting societies, increase the transparency standards not only towards rightholders but also users, make a distinction between personal and commercial use of protected works and introduce various provisions on invoicing. Calendar
3. Approximation of the laws, regulations and administrative provisions of the Member States concerning the manufacture, presentation and sale of tobacco and related products Consideration of draft opinion INTA will proceed to the consideration of a draft opinion presented by rapporteur Metin Kazak (ALDE) on the Commission's proposal to review the current Tobacco Products Directive. The draft report will focus on international trade aspects of the file, especially with regards to EU commitements to agreements such as Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). The various provisions laid down in the proposed Directive will bethus analysed from an international trade perspective.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Metin Kazak (ALDE) Consideration of draft opinion: 27-28/5/2013 Responsible administrator: Rémi Piérot Deadline for Ams: 29/5/2013, 12.00 Procedure: 2012/0366(COD) - INTA/7/12354 Planned vote in INTA: 17-18/6/2013 Lead committee: ENVI Planned adoption in plenary: Sep-13 Related documents can be found here
10 4. Presentation by the European Commission on the implementation of the Communication on the internationalisation of SMEs
The INTA Committee wishes to make a follow-up to the European Commission's Communication entitled "Small Business, Big World - a new partnership to help SMEs seize global opportunities" and released in 2011. INTA held a workshop on this topic in January 2012 and later adopted an opinion as associated committee to ITRE on the same issue of SMEs' internationalisation, for which the rapporteur was Iuliu Winkler (EPP). Moreover, INTA had an INI report on the particular issue of financing SMEs' trade and investment under the rapporteurship of Jan Zahradil (ECR). DG Trade and DG Entreprise will present their implementation of the Communication and how they have integrated in their activities the recommendations expressed last year by the European Parliament.
5. Access of third-country goods and services to the Union’s internal market in public procurement and procedures supporting negotiations on access of Union goods and services to the public procurement markets of third countries Consideration of working document Following several exchanges of views (including with Commissioner de Gucht) in the Committee on the proposed regulation on reciprocity for access to public procurement markets, the rapporteur, Daniel Caspary (EPP), will present its working document to the INTA-Committee. The working document sums up a variety of questions, which were raised during the previous debates, and provides some factual answers to these questions. Furthermore, the rapporteur makes some suggestions for improving the draft regulation to be discussed within the Committee before presenting concrete proposals for amending the proposed regulation in his up-coming draft report to be considered by the Committee after the summer recess.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Daniel Caspary (EPP) Further exchange of views: 23/1 & 20-21/3/2013 Responsible administrator: Felix Lutz Cons. of working document: 27-28/5/2013 Procedure: 2012/0060(COD) - INTA/7/09334 Cons. of a draft report: 16-17/9/2013 Lead committee: INTA Deadline for Ams: 30/9/2013 Planned adoption in INTA: 27-28/11/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents can be found here
6. Trade arrangements applicable to certain goods resulting from the processing of agricultural products Consideration of draft opinion Members will discuss a draft opinion on a proposed Regulation aiming to align current trade arrangements applicable to certain goods derived from the processing of agricultural products1 to the regime of implementing and delegated acts. The proposal seeks to reinforce legal framework for the management of the export refunds, reduced import duties, import quotas and adoption of safeguard measures in line with the Union's obligations, arising from the WTO and bilateral FTA agreements.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Albert Deß (EPP) Cons. of a draft opinion: 27-28/5/2013 Responsible administrator: Mindaugas Kojelis Deadline for Ams: 29/5/2013, 12:00 Procedure: 2013/0063 (COD) - INTA/7/12116 Planned adoption in INTA: 17-18/6/2013 Lead committee: AGRI Planned adoption in plenary: Sept-13 Related documents can be found here
1 Council Regulation (EC) No 1216/2009 of 30 November 2009, OJ L 328, 15.12.2009, p. 10. 11 7. First annual report from the Commission to the European Parliament on the activities of Member States' Export Credit Agencies Votes The Committee will vote the INTA own initiative report on the Commission's first report on the Member States' Export Credit activities. The deadline for amendments was on 6 May and 56 amendments were tabled by Members to the rapporteur's draft report. Calendar
8. Stepping-stone Economic Partnership Agreement between the EC and Central Africa Votes Trade MEPs will decide whether to recommend to the full Parliament to grant consent to the interim Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) with Cameroon. Its objectives include regional integration in the Central African region, with gradual trade liberalisation, supported by accompanying development cooperation measures. The EU is currently negotiating a full regional EPA with Central African countries. Calendar
9. Amendment of Council Decision 2000/125/EC ('parallel agreement') 10. Amendment of Decision 97/836/EC ('revised 1958 Agreement') Votes The Committee will vote the recommendation for bringing the Union's decisions to join the UNECE framework on vehicles standards up-to-date with the Lisbon Treaty. The deadline for amendments was on 6 May and no amendments were tabled by Members to the rapporteur's draft recommendation to give consent.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Vital Moreira (S&D) Exchange of views: 11-12/7 & 10-11/10/2012 Responsible administrator: Heikki Suortti Consideration of a draft reports: 20-21/3/2013 Procedure: 2012/0099(NLE) - INTA/7/09490 Planned adoption in INTA: 27-28/5/2013 Procedure: 2012/0098(NLE) - INTA/7/09486 Planned adoption in plenary: Jul-13 (tbc) Lead committee: INTA Related documents can be found here: 2012/0099(NLE) and 2012/0098(NLE)
11. Opening of negotiations on a Plurilateral Agreement on Services Votes The INTA Committee will adopt its motion for resolution to define its expectations for the plurilateral negotiations of the Trade in Services Agreement. 76 amendments have been tabled.
Calendar
12. 2014 Budget - Mandate for the Trilogue Votes Members tabled 11 amendments to the draft opinion. Further support to improving DG Trade's allocation of resources is expected. Calendar
12 13. Recommendation to the Council, the Commission and the EEAS on the negotiations for an EU-Malaysia partnership and cooperation agreement Votes The Committee will vote the draft opinion on the negotiations for an EU-Malaysia partnership and cooperation agreement. The deadline for amendments was on 3 May and 28 amendments were tabled by Members.
Calendar
14. Consumer product safety Exchange of views INTA's draftsperson for the opinion, Cristiana Muscardini (ECR), will outline her views on the proposal for a regulation on consumer safety (and repealing Council Directive 87/357/EEC an Directive 2001/95/EC), for which IMCO Committee is the committee responsible.
The proposal is part of the so-called "Product Safety and Market Surveillance Package", which also includes a proposal for a single market surveillance regulation and multi-annual action plan for marking surveillance covering the period 2013-2015. The proposal replaces current legislation on consumer safety with the aim to streamline and simplify the regulatory framework. In order to supplement the basic traceability requirements concerning the name and address of the manufacturer, the proposal contains a mandatory origin marking requirement. It thereby takes account of provisions by a proposal on the indication of the country of origin of certain products imported from third countries, which is under discussion in Council since 2005.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Cristiana Muscardini (ECR) Exchange of views: 27-28/5/2013 Responsible administrator: Felix Lutz Consideration of draft opinion: 17-18/6/2013 Procedure: 2013/0049(COD) - INTA/7/11992 Deadline for Ams: 24/6/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: IMCO Consideration of Ams: 5/9/2013 Planned vote in INTA: 16-17/9/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents may be found here.
15. Agreement between the European Union and the Russian Federation on drug precursors First exchange of views INTA will hold the first exchange of views on the EU-Russia agreement on trade of drug precursors, under the consent procedure. This agreement should be signed at the EU-Russia Summit on 3-4 June 2013 in Ekaterinburg in Russia. It aims at the prevention of diversion of precursors and chemical substances frequently used in the illicit manufacture of narcotic drugs. The EU has established such an agreement with ten countries already, including the US (1997) and China (2008). The EU-Russia agreement is built on the same model as the others, providing for cooperation in trade monitoring and for mutual administrative assistance.
PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Franck Proust (EPP) Exchange of views: 27-28/5/2013 Responsible administrator: Nicolas Dorgeret Cons. of draft recommendation: 10-11/7/2013 Procedure: 2013/0005(NLE) - INTA/7/11716 Deadline for Ams: 26/7/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: INTA Planned vote in INTA: 5/9/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: Oct-II-13 Related documents may be found here.
13 16. Amendment to the fuel quality directive and the renewable energy directive (Indirect Land Use Change) Consideration of amendments A discussion will take place in the Committee about the amendments that have been tabled in INTA on the Commission's proposal for amending the Renewable Energy Directive and the Fuel Quality Directive in order to take the Indirect Land Use Change (ILUC) into account. In total 112 amendments have been tabled, including 11 by the rapporteur Ms. Andrés Barea. Calendar
17. Exchange of views with Karel De Gucht, Commissioner for Trade, on the Commission Work Programme for 2013 and 2014 (structured dialogue) INTA will have an exchange of views with Commissioner on the Commission Work Programme under the structured dialogue between the Commission and the Parliament, which will be wound up in June in a Parliament resolution. After the entry into force of the Lisbon Treaty, INTA has become one of the most active legislative committees of the EP dealing with trade policy legislation and having the final say on trade agreements. There is a long list of INTA legislative procedures completed since the Lisbon Treaty entered into force. INTA has also taken firm stance on international agreements and showed that Parliament can also say no to an agreement. There are still many important files in the making, including and impressive bilateral free trade agenda. The Committee will discuss its assessment regarding the past mandate and expectations for the future initiatives with the Commissioner.
Joint meeting with the Steering Committee of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO
The Parliamentary Conference on the WTO is a joint undertaking of the European Parliament and the Inter- Parliamentary Union, aimed at bringing a parliamentary dimension to multilateral cooperation on trade issues and to the WTO. The Steering Committee is the Board of the Parliamentary Conference on the WTO, which normally meets twice a year. The European Parliament holds 6 out of the 22 seats on the Steering Committee, which also includes member from Japan, China, Brazil, Russia etc. This is the first time ever that there is a joint meeting between INTA and the Steering Committee.
18. Update on recent developments at the WTO Exchange of views WTO Deputy-Director General Rufus Yerxa will give a briefing on recent developments in multilateral trade negotiations and on the situation with the Doha Round, including preparations for the 9th WTO Ministerial Conference (Bali, 3-6 December 2013).
19. The Future of Trade: The Challenges of Convergence Exchange of views The report of the Lamy Panel on Defining the Future of Trade was published on 24 April 2013. The panel was established one year earlier with the mandate to examine and analyse challenges to global trade opening in the 21st century, composed of many well renowned stakeholders. The report will now be presented and discussed in INTA with some of those who were closely involved in its preparation.
20. CARS 2020: towards a strong, competitive and sustainable European car industry First exchange of views The European automotive industry continues to face the medium and long-term challenge in providing future mobility solutions in an extremely competitive global environment. The industry is of strategic importance to the European economy and its products and services impact the life of European citizens on a daily basis. The sector represents around 12 million direct and indirect jobs and delivers a sizeable positive contribution to the EU trade balance. Trade in automotive products is increasing steadily and third markets are becoming ever more important for the EU. INTA will give an opinion to the ITRE report on the CARS2020 Communication.
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PROCEDURE TIMETABLE Rapporteur: Maria Badia i Cutchet (S&D) First exchange of views: 27-28/5/2013 Responsible administrator: Heikki Suortti Consideration of draft opinion: 10-11/7/2013 Procedure: 2013/2062(INI) - INTA/7/12457 Deadline for Ams: 15/7/2013, 18.00 Lead committee: ITRE Planned vote in INTA: 16-17/9/2013 Planned adoption in plenary: tbc Related documents may be found here.
21. CARIFORUM - EU Joint Parliamentary Committee Meeting Presentation of the report of the delegation The CARIFORUM Parliamentary Committee, set up under the only full Economic Partnership Agreement in place, met for the second time on 3 and 4 April 2013 in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, with Co-chair Honorouble Vasant Barath, Senator and Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment of Trinidad and Tobago, as the host. The first meeting was held in Brussels in June 2011. Mr David Martin (S&D), Chair of this delegation and of DCAR (the European Parliament Delegation to the Committee), will report back to the INTA committee on this meeting, which he attended together with Vice Chair Niccolo Rinaldi (ALDE), and other members included Mr Enrique Guerrero Salom, Mr Patrice Tirolien and Mr Georg Cutas (all S&D) as well as Mr Santiago Fisas Ayala (EPP).
22. State of play of ongoing trilogue negotiations Exchange of views INTA will continue with the regular item on the state of play of ongoing trilogue negotiations, in particular regarding "Trade Omnibus II" proposal (2011/0153(COD)) on which the second trilogue took place on 14 May, and the MFA Framework regulation (2011/0176(COD)) on which the sixth trilogue took place on 25 April, and the seventh and final trilogue was scheduled for 8 May, but was replaced by mere informal meeting due to withdrawal of the proposal by the Commission.
23. Monitoring Groups Activities Exchange of views
The Committee is expected to receive feedback from the Monitoring Groups on Colombia/Peru, Ukraine and USA as well as possibly from the Standing rapporteur for India's, Ms Badia i Cutchet, participation in the visit of the Delegation of the European Parliament for relations with India and from the Standing rapporteur for Mercosur's, Mr Barea, participation in the visit of the Delegation of the European Parliament for relations with Argentina and Uruguay.
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State-of-play of ongoing negotiations
Free trade agreements: tentative dates of upcoming negotiation rounds All dates are indicative and subject to possible changes and postponement.
Thailand 1st round, 27-31 May, Brussels, Belgium 2nd round, 16-20 September, Bangkok, Thailand
Georgia 7th round, 3-7 June, Tbilisi, Georgia 8th round, 23-27 September, Brussels, Belgium
Moldova 7th round, 10-14 June, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova 8th round, 9-13 September, Brussels, Belgium
Armenia 6th round, 17-21 June, Brussels, Belgium 7th round, 16-20 September, Yerevan, Armenia
Morocco 2nd round, 24-28 June, Brussels, Belgium
Japan 2nd round, 24-28 June, Tokyo, Japan
Source: DG TRADE, European Commission, more info
State of play on Trade Defence Instruments
EU and China - Increasing Trade tensions
Just days after the leak of the Commissions plans to impose antidumping duties allegedly averaging 47 % on imports of Chinese solar panels to the Union, Commissioner Karel De Gucht made a statement on 15 May on imports of telecommunications networks from China. De Gucht said that "The European Commission has today taken a decision in principle to open an ex officio anti-dumping and an anti-subsidy investigation concerning imports of mobile telecommunications networks and their essential elements from China. This decision will not be activated for the time being to allow for negotiations towards an amicable solution with the Chinese authorities. I will revert to the College of Commissioners in due course." More info According to The Economist "Gartner, a research firm, estimates that last year the [Chinese telecom networks giant] Huawei doubled its share of the Western European market for mobile operators’ infrastructure, to 19%. Its share in eastern Europe is even higher. But in America, where Chinese kit is seen as a security threat, Huawei cannot get a sniff. In Australia it was blocked on similar grounds from bidding for a broadband project last year." More info Reuters reported on 16 May that China has warned the European Union that imposing duties on Chinese solar panels would "seriously harm" bilateral trade ties, upping the tone of its criticism a week after the EU said it would move ahead with hefty penalties in June. The European Commission has agreed to impose average
16 import duties of 47 percent on solar panels from China, according to officials, a move they say is to guard against the dumping of cheap goods in Europe. China's Ministry of Commerce spokesman Shen Danyang said he hoped reports about the duties were unreliable. "If this information is true, this action by the European Union would seriously harm China-Europe trade relations," Shen told a news conference, according to Reuters. More info
WTO Dispute settlement
Ontario’s Energy programme: EU welcomes WTO ruling in support of clean energy
The European Commission welcomes the World Trade Organisation (WTO) Appellate Body’s ruling of 6 May 2013, which confirms the EU’s claim that the discriminatory conditions in the support scheme for wind and solar power introduced by the Canadian Province of Ontario are in breach of WTO rules.
The EU challenged Ontario’s measure at the WTO in August 2011 in order to ensure the respect of WTO rules and the re-establishment of fair competition for EU products on the Canadian market. Japan brought a similar WTO challenge against Canada. On 19 December 2012, a WTO Dispute Settlement Panel concluded that Ontario's programme discriminated against imports and was inconsistent with WTO rules. Canada appealed the Panel report on 5 February 2013. The WTO Appellate Body has now dismissed Canada’s appeal and confirmed that Ontario’s discriminatory rules are in breach of the WTO Agreement.
Ontario requires electricity generating companies to source equipment domestically, as a condition for benefitting from long-term guaranteed prices for the energy they produce. The EU is a significant producer and exporter of wind and photovoltaic power but its exports to Canada could be much higher should the measure promoting use of domestic equipment be removed. By restricting imports, the measure taken by Ontario increases the cost of electricity generation and has a negative impact on the deployment of affordable clean energy solutions. More info
Meetings held during weeks 17-20
23 of April: Speaker at Conference on EU-US Relations: The Comprehensive Trade Agreement – Challenges & Opportunities organized by the American European Community Association (AECA) 25 of April: Press conference on the INTA vote on the Resolution on EU trade and investment negotiations with the United States of America 25 of April: Interview for Europarl TV on the INTA vote on the Resolution on EU trade and investment negotiations with the United States of America 2 of May: Meeting with candidates to become the next Director-General of the WTO, Mr Herminio Blanco (Mexico) and Mr Roberto Carvalho de Azevêdo (Brazil) 6 of May: Meeting with representatives of the European spirits industry 7 of May: Host and moderator of MEDEF Working lunch on the topic of Third Country Reciprocity in Access to Public Procurement Markets 8 of May: Meeting with representatives of Alstom 14 of May: Press breakfast ahead of plenary vote on the Resolution on EU trade and investment negotiations with the United States of America
17 14 of May: Meeting with representatives of Facebook 17 of May: Speaker at conference on Democracy in the EU after the Lisbon Treaty organized by the University of Granada
Briefing notes & studies by the Policy department
Delivered . Internal briefing note on Economic and trade relations with the People's Republic of China . Internal briefing note on Pakistan: Economic situation and bilateral commercial relations . Internal briefing note on the Trade and economic relations with Turkmenistan . Internal briefing note - Country note on Lithuania
Pending . Internal briefing note on Economic and trade relations with the Philippines . Foreign Trade and promotion systems of EU Member States and EU complementarities . External study on EU Free Trade Policy in comparison with those of third countries . External study on the Implementation and Enforcement of HR Conditionality in EU Trade Agreements (addendum to the DROI study) . Internal briefing note on the Trade and economic relations with Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan . Internal briefing note - Country note on Greece . Internal briefing note - Short Evaluation of the DCFTA with Morocco . Internal briefing note on the European textile sector in international trade
Upcoming workshops
. Workshop on The Euromed and the new DCFTAs in the region - 18.06.2013 from 16.00-18.30 . Workshop on the EU-India FTA - 19.09.2013 (tbc)
Library briefings
Library Statistical Spotlight: Analysis of EU-US trade/ Sabbati Giulio, Library Statistical Spotlight, 16/05/2013, 6 p. "The EU and the US are the 2 largest economies in the world in terms of GDP and are each other’s major partners in trade of goods, services and investment. To further improve these relations the European Commission has proposed the launch of negotiations with the US on a Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. This paper focuses on trade between the two economies, looking at EU-US trade in goods, services and FDI, as well as showing the major global trading partners for both the EU and US."
The EU-US Trade and Investment Partnership/ Cirlig Carmen-Cristina, Library Briefing, 16/05/2013, 1 p. "On 13 February 2013, EU and US leaders announced the start of procedures for the launch of negotiations on a transatlantic free trade deal. The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) would address a broad range of issues, from the elimination of tariffs to reducing regulatory barriers and developing rules for global trade."
18 Indication of origin marking on products/ Szczepanski Marcin, Library Briefing, 6 May 2013, 6 p., "Non-food products imported into the EU currently require no labelling or marking of the country from which they originate. In January 2013, the European Commission made a new proposal to introduce obligatory indication of origin on non-food consumer products as part of the product safety and market surveillance package."
Principal EU-US trade disputes/ Skoba Laine, Library Briefing, 23 April 2013, 2 p. "The prospect of transatlantic free trade talks has brought the EU-US trade relationship, the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world, into the spotlight. Trade disputes account for a small fraction of the total volume of this trade, around 2% according to the Commission, despite often receiving prominent media coverage. But a number of long-running disputes between the EU and the US are indicative of the challenges negotiators will face."
New books in the Library reading room collection (available for loan)
World trade law: text, materials and commentary/ Lester, S. N.; Mercurio, B.; Davies, A., Oxford: Hart Publishing, 2012, xv, 934 p. "Combining the best aspects of both casebook and treatise, this comprehensive textbook provides both detailed explanations and analysis of the law to help understand the issues as well as case extracts to offer a flavour of the judicial reasoning of trade adjudicators. This updated edition includes in-depth discussions of the most recent developments in international trade jurisprudence, setting out important precedents that help establish the boundaries between global trade rules and domestic national autonomy. The implications of these rulings will be of great interest to traders, investors, government negotiators and even critics of globalisation."
Perspektiven für den grenzüberschreitenden Dienstleistungshandel: das EU-Dienstleistungsrecht und sein Verhältnis zum GATS/ Robertson, Viktoria H., Baden-Baden: Nomos, 2012, 384 p. "Ein Rechtsvergleich zwischen dem Dienstleistungsrecht der EU (Artikel 56 ff AEUV, Dienstleistungsrichtlinie 2006/123/EG) und der WTO (GATS) zeigt die Ähnlichkeiten und Divergenzen zwischen diesen beiden Regelungsrahmen auf. Darauf aufbauend können Perspektiven für den grenzüberschreitenden Dienstleistungshandel erarbeitet und diskutiert werden. Dabei behandelte Fragestellungen umfassen eine bessere Vernetzung der Außen- mit der Binnenmarktdimension des europäischen Dienstleistungsmarktes, die Möglichkeit einer Vorbildwirkung der Europäischen Union für eine zukünftige direkte Anwendbarkeit des GATS, elektronische Dienstleistungen sowie die Aufhebung der Unterscheidung in Waren und Dienstleistungen."
Library weekly newsletter on International Trade
The EP Library's weekly electronic newsletter covers EU positions, academic studies and press articles on International trade issues. Browse the archive and sign up.
For more information please visit our Library intranet pages on International Trade, Contact - Nils Hammarlund, Ext. 42871/ Odile Maisse, Ext. 46201
19 Press releases
EU/US trade talks: keep Parliament on board, MEPs warn Press release - 23-05-2013
Parliament must be kept on board in talks with the US on what could become the world's largest free trade area, it warns in a resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs strongly favour starting the talks, but also state their expectations, e.g. as regards opening up access to the US procurement market and safeguarding the EU's cultural and audiovisual services market. This resolution is Parliament's input to the EU negotiating mandate.
Tougher rules to prevent chemicals being diverted to illegal drug production Press release - 26-04-2013 New rules to ensure that chemicals used in industrial processes, such as manufacturing plastics, textiles, aspirin, flu and allergy remedies, dyes and perfumes, are not diverted to the illegal production of heroin, speed or crack were adopted by the Civil Liberties Committee on Wednesday and by the International Trade Committee on Thursday.
Trade MEPs urge Council to launch trade and investment talks with US Press release - 25-04-2013 The EU Council of Ministers should authorize the start of Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) talks with the US in June, say International Trade Committee MEPs in a resolution voted on Thursday. The negotiating mandate should include public procurement and financial services, but exclude culture, they add.
Live: international trade committee votes on position on EU-US free trade deal Article - 24-04-2013 The international trade committee will vote this Thursday on the EP's position on the EU-US free trade agreement, which will be followed by a press conference. The resolution also highlights the advantages and disadvantages a possible deal would have for people and companies in the EU. Vital Moreira, a Portuguese member of the S&D group who wrote the draft resolution, will explain Parliament's position during the press conference. Follow the vote and the press conference live on our website.
Important Meetings and Events
WTO events
24 May Dispute Settlement Body 4-5 June General Council 10-12 June Trade Policy Review: Suriname 17-18 June Workshop on E-Commerce
Events calendar 2013 Summits & Events
27-28 June European Council 3-14 June UN Framework convention on climate change in Bonn 17-18 June G8 Summit, Lough Erne, Northern Ireland 19 June (tbc) EU-US Summit, Brussels
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Useful links
INTA Links: List of INTA Members INTA Intranet & E-Committee INTA Internet
EU Links: European Commission - Trade European Council Council of Ministers Irish presidency
Other Links WTO Documents and publications
Calendar of committee's meetings for 2013
The next regular meeting of the Committee on International Trade is scheduled to take place on Monday 17, June 2013, from 15.00-18.30 and on Tuesday 18, June 2013 from 9.00-12.30 & 15.00-18.30. The calendar of 2013 meetings can be found here.
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