Whither EUs FTA Policy?

As the Doha Round of trade liberalisation has been suspended, and as the prospects for renewed efforts to put the Round back on track again seem rather pale, there is today a greater interest in starting bilateral negotiations for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). The United States and many Asian countries have been active on the FTA front in the last years, but now the European Union is also building up steam for a new FTA agenda. The EU has lifted its earlier moratorium on new FTA negotiations and will soon embark on an ambitious programme for new FTAs at the same time as present FTA processes will be concluded.

At the seminar we will discuss current and future FTA policy in Europe—and the prospects for ambitious FTAs that contribute substantially to trade liberalisation and improved conditions for cross-border exchange without leading to trade diversion and complex webs of regulations. Furthermore, as the trade agenda in Europe to a great extent will rest on FTA negotiations, it is crucial to analyse how these negotiations can improve the conditions for unilateral reform in Europe and multilateral reform in the WTO.

Download presentations from the seminar:

• Steve Woolcock: EU FTA Policy - An overview

• Eoin O'Malley: A View from Business

• Jim Rollo: Deep or Shallow Integration?