Free Trade Agreement Between Colombia And Eu
The lists of specific obligations of each party are included in Appendix XV. These lists are reviewed every three years with the aim of further liberalizing trade in services between the two parties. On 30 June 2015, the European Union, Colombia and Peru signed an additional protocol that will allow Croatia to be officially part of the agreement. All parties must complete their respective internal procedures for the protocol to enter into force. The agreement provides tariff concessions for processed agricultural products. Tariff concessions for certain agricultural commodities are covered by bilateral agricultural agreements, which are part of the instruments for creating a free trade area between the contracting parties. Chapter 4 on Trade in Services closely follows the approach of the WTO`s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS). It covers the four service providers within the meaning of the GATS and is aimed at all service sectors. The chapter on trade in services deals with general disciplines, while the annexes contain more specific provisions for certain sectors (financial services, Appendix XVI; telecommunications services, Appendix XVII).
After fulfilling all the internal requirements of its legal system, Colombia can continue to implement the trade agreement between Colombia and Peru, on the one hand, and the European Union on the other. To this end, the Colombian government adopted Decree No. 2247 of 5 November 2014, Colombia regulates Colombia`s market access commitments under the trade agreement between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Colombia and Peru, on the other, signed on 26 June 2012 in the city of Brussels in response to the 2013 Act of 1669. and adopts other provisions.” Foreign direct investment (FDI) in Colombia is also expected to benefit from the new agreement. Foreign direct investment has already increased by 245% between 2010 and 2011 and the EU Free Trade Agreement is expected to encourage the introduction of new foreign direct investment into the country. The main investment opportunities for Europe are renewable energy, automotive parts, oil services, BPO and software and information technology. The EFTA-Colombia Free Trade Agreement focuses mainly on the liberalization of trade in goods. Other agricultural agreements between the different EFTA states and Colombia are an integral part of the instruments for creating a free trade area. According to Eurostat data, free trade between the two regions has increased over the past six years, reaching more than 11 billion euros in 2018.
Colombia`s main exports to the EU are coal, bananas, coffee, oil and palm oil. Overall, conference participants agreed that the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) has helped diversify Colombian exports and facilitate access to the European market. In this context, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru met with the EU at the end of February 2009 in Brussels to advance negotiations for a trade agreement.