Asean-EU and Singapore-EU Free Trade Agreements

Mr Alex Yam asked the Minister for Trade and Industry whether he will provide an update on (i) the potential for resumption of talks between ASEAN and the European Union on the ASEAN-EU Free Trade Agreement; and (ii) the progress of the seventh negotiating round of the Singapore-EU FTA.

Mr Lim Hng Kiang: ASEAN and the European Union (EU) decided to take a pause in negotiations in June 2009 due to the diversity and different development stages of the ASEAN Member States. The EU has now taken the approach of negotiating bilateral FTAs with individual ASEAN Member States, such as the EU-Singapore FTA (EUSFTA). Apart from Singapore, EU has also launched FTA negotiations with Malaysia and Vietnam. We see these bilateral FTAs as potential building blocks that could pave the way for an eventual region-to-region agreement between ASEAN and the EU.

Singapore and the European Union (EU) launched negotiations on an EU-Singapore FTA in December 2009. Eight rounds of negotiations have been held since. Negotiations have been smooth and constructive thus far, and discussions have covered the entire range of issues typically covered in a high-quality and comprehensive FTA, such as trade in goods and services, non-tariff barriers to trade, Government procurement, competition policy, intellectual property rights and sustainable development.

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