Please support the Ministry’s public relations work: We need your consent to be able to measure your user activity on our website using etracker. A pseudonymised evaluation of this data by etracker helps us to improve our website. You can revoke your consent at any time for the future. Once you have made your selection, the consent management screen will appear at the bottom of the page. You can use this to stop or to reactivate the statistical evaluation at any point. You can reactivate tracking by dragging the slider in the opposite direction.
This website sets temporary session cookies. These are strictly necessary and therefore cannot be deselected. Their sole purpose is to enable you to use the website.
How does etracker work? A script on our website triggers an http request which automatically forwards your IP address and the user agent to etracker GmbH. The first action is that your IP address is automatically shortened. The software then pseudonymises the transmitted data solely in order to identify multiple uses during the session. After seven days, all the attributions to the session are deleted, and your statistical data are entirely anonymised. Etracker is a German company and processes your data exclusively on our behalf on protected servers. The data are not passed on to other third parties. The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action is responsible for this processing of your data. You can contact our data protection officer at datenschutzbeauftragte@bmwk.bund.de. The legal basis is your consent in accordance with section 25(1) of the Act on Data Protection and the Protection of Privacy in Telecommunications and the Telemedia (TTDSG) in conjunction with Article 6(1)a of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and section 3(1) of the Act to Promote Electronic Government (EGovG). We have ensured that you can withdraw your consent at any time without any negative repercussions and wish to give you full control over the tracking on our website. We also provide a consent management function for this at the bottom of the page. You can use this to control whether etracker is enabled or not.
The Ministry also presents its work on this website in the form of videos. These are made available by the provider TV1 using JW Player. Please consent to the transmission of your IP address and other technical data to JW Player and allow JW Player to set cookies on your end device if you wish to view videos on our website. We also provide a consent management function for this at the bottom of the page. You can use this to control whether JW Player is enabled or not.
We ask for your consent to the live transmission of Ministry press conferences using Vimeo.com. Please consent to the transmission of your IP address and other technical data to Vimeo if you wish to use our livestream video service. We also provide a consent management function for this at the bottom of the page. You can use this to control whether Vimeo is enabled or not.
You can find detailed information on your rights and how we protect your privacy in our privacy policy.
Consent to the use of JW Player for video streaming
The Ministry also presents its work on this website in the form of videos. These are made available by the provider TV1 using JW Player. Please consent to the transmission of your IP address and other technical data to JW Player and allow JW Player to set cookies on your end device if you wish to view videos on our website. We also provide a consent management function for this at the bottom of the page. You can use this to control whether JW Player is enabled or not.
The European Union is championing a new generation of FTAs, to be concluded first and foremost with the world’s growth regions. The idea is to boost growth and employment levels in Europe by improving European companies’ global competitiveness.
The development of multilateral trading relations is a key priority for both Germany and the European Union. In light of the bilateral FTAs that are being concluded by some of Europe’s important trading partners (including the U.S. and Japan) and which could jeopardise the competitiveness of European companies on the global markets, the EU’s position on bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) has evolved since 2007.
The new generation of free trade agreements that the EU aims to conclude with other countries is broad-based and covers a wide range of different aspects. These agreements not only touch upon the issue of tariffs (e.g. customs duties, export subsidies) but also set out rules for services, the elimination of non-tariff barriers to trade and other trade-related aspects such as investment and competition. As the scope of these agreements is wider than the WTO agenda, they are often referred to as ‘WTO+ agreements’.
Click here for an overview of the existing free trade agreements that have been concluded by the EU.
EU-Canada: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA)
On 15 February 2017, the European Parliament adopted the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). CETA eliminates most of the tariffs that still exist and provides for better mutual access to the goods and services markets in the EU and Canada. Following shared rules and creating open market access in this way will help the CETA parties to safeguard and expand their prosperity.
CETA not only creates better opportunities for European producers of industrial goods, agricultural produce and services. It also reaffirms social and environmental standards and provides for a modernised form of investment protection according to the current EU standard. CETA is a major opportunity for us to lay down fair and sound rules for ever deepening globalisation and to play an active role in it: the high standards agreed between the EU and Canada will serve as a benchmark for future trade agreements.
CETA has been provisionally applied since 21 September 2017. This, however, applies only to those chapters for which the EU has sole responsibility. As a result of this provisional entry-into-force of the agreement, EU companies and citizens have been benefiting directly from CETA since 21 September 2017. Canada is abolishing all tariffs on 98% of all the goods being traded between the EU and Canada (in terms of tariff lines). This will save EU companies an annual €590 million in customs payments. They also gain the best level of access to the Canadian federal, provincial and municipal public-sector markets that has ever been granted to non-Canadian companies. CETA will not enter into force in its entirety before all Member States have ratified the agreement in line with their individual national procedures. Among the provisions that require ratification by all EU Member States are those governing investor-state dispute settlement procedures, which, under CETA, will be handled by an investment court that is held publicly accountable.
At the initiative of Germany, the European Commission and Canada began negotiating a text for a Decision by the CETA Joint Committee that will be binding under international law. The objective of these negotiations is to improve the chapter on investment protection. The Decision clarifies and better defines the protection standards applicable under investment protection law. This serves to strengthen the right to regulate in the interest of achieving legitimate common-interest objectives. The Declaration is expected to be adopted in early 2024.
The EU is one of the most important trading partners for the U.S. For Germany, the U.S. is the most important foreign sales market and also the market where German companies invest the most. The negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and the U.S. have been suspended since the beginning of 2017 and are not being continued.
The Joint Communication for a new transatlantic agenda ithat was jointly tabled by the European Commission and the European External Action Service (EEAS) on 2 December 2020 also identifies fields of trade policy in which EU-U.S. cooperation would be particularly effective. On that basis, the EU and United States created the EU-U.S.A. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) on 15 June 2021. The TTC is an important forum for transatlantic coordination on numerous forward-looking fields, in particular those related to innovative technologies. Within the TTC, the respective EU and U.S. approaches to important issues of global trade, economic and technology policies are being discussed so as to deepen our transatlantic trade and economic relations on the basis of our shared democratic values. The working groups focus on the following issues: technology standards; climate and green tech; secure supply chains, information and communications technology and services (ICTS), security and competitiveness; data governance and tech platform regulation; misuse of technology; threats to security and human rights; export controls; investment screening; promoting SMEs; access to and use of digital instruments; global trade challenges. Further information about the progress in the talks can be downloaded from the European Commission’s website.
EU-ASEAN
The negotiations for a free trade agreement between the EU and several ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries have high significance for Germany in economic terms. The ASEAN region is growing dynamically and there is major potential for economic cooperation with Europe. The EU is currently negotiating with individual ASEAN members after initial negotiations with the region as a whole failed to deliver specific outcomes.
Singapore: The EU and Singapore signed a free trade agreement and an investment protection agreement at the ASEM Summit on 18 and 19 October 2018. The European Parliament approved both agreements in February 2019. Germany strongly welcomes the free trade agreement, because, despite its small size, Singapore is one of Germany’s most important trading partners in the ASEAN area. The ratification of the free trade agreement was concluded by a Council decision on 8 November, and the agreement entered into force on 21 November 2019. The investment protection agreement must be ratified by all EU Member States. The Federal Government has yet to take a decision on whether it will ratify the investment protection agreement with Singapore. The investment protection agreement sets high and unambiguous investment protection standards in line with the current EU standard that preserve the state’s right to regulate, and it puts in place a reformed dispute settlement procedure modelled on CETA. However, it is not compatible with the objectives set out in the current Coalition Agreement (strengthening the state’s right to regulate, focus on national treatment and direct expropriation). You can find out more about the two agreements on the European Commission's website.
Viet Nam: The EU and Viet Nam signed a free trade agreement and an investment protection agreement in Hanoi on 30 June 2019. Germany is Viet Nam’s largest trading partner within the EU and welcomes the signing of the agreement. The free trade agreement will provide easier access for German products to the growing Vietnamese market. Like the agreement signed with Singapore, the investment protection agreement with Viet Nam sets high and precise investment protection standards and puts in place a reformed dispute settlement procedure in line with the current EU standard. The European Parliament gave its assent to both agreements on 12 February 2020. The free trade agreement took effect on 1 August 2020. The investment protection agreement has to be ratified by all EU Member States before entering into force. The Federal Government has yet to take a decision on whether it will ratify the investment protection agreement with Viet Nam.
Indonesia: Negotiations for a free trade agreement with Indonesia began in July 2016. Indonesia is by the largest market within the ASEAN community and an ambitious agreement would make it easier for companies to trade with one another. It would also help German companies diversify further within the region. A separate agreement on investment protection is also being negotiated. In line with the new trade agenda and as in all negotiations on investment protection agreements, we are advocating for a further strengthening of governments’ right to regulate, a focus on national treatment and for protection against direct expropriation.
Malaysia: Talks towards establishing an EU-Malaysia free trade agreement began in October 2010. The negotiations have been stalled since the end of the 7th round in 2012. Preliminary talks about a potential resumption of the negotiations are being held.
Philippines: Negotiations began in December 2015, with two rounds held so far. The talks were suspended in 2017. At the end of July 2023, the EU and the Philippines announced that they want to explore whether the negotiations can be resumed.
Thailand: Negotiations for an FTA with Thailand began in May 2013. They have been paused since the fourth round of negotiations in April 2014, after the military took control of the country. (An agreement can only be signed with a democratically elected Thai government.) In March 2023, a decision was made to resume the negotiations.
EU-Australia
The EU is currently preparing to take up negotiations on an EU-Australia FTA.
On 22 May 2018, the EU Trade Ministers decided to start negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement. These began in June 2018.
We are in favour of concluding an ambitious agreement with Australia. An agreement like this would allow the EU to further expand its activities in the dynamic Indo-Pacific growth region.
EU-New Zealand
On 22 May 2018, the EU Trade Ministers decided to start negotiations on a Free Trade Agreement with New Zealand. The negotiations were successfully wrapped up in June 2022 and the agreement signed on 9 July 2023. The next step is the signing of the agreement by the European Parliament and the New Zealand Parliament, so that it can then be ratified in a final step. Once this process is completed, the agreement could enter into force in 2024.
The agreement will deliver some €140 million in annual tariff cuts for EU companies. This is likely to spark up to 30% growth in bilateral trade within a decade, lifting EU exports by up to €4.5 billion worth every year. EU investments in New Zealand might increase by up to 80%. The agreement incorporates ground-breaking sustainability obligations, such as compliance with the Paris Agreement and with basic employee rights.
EU-India
An FTA between the EU and India can help eliminate existing barriers to trade and give fresh impetus to our bilateral cooperation. India’s population is the second-largest in the world, making the country a very important trading partner for German businesses. The Federal Government and the European Commission do, however, insist that any agreement must be comprehensive and ambitious.
At the EU-India Summit in May 2021, a resumption of the agreements for an FTA was agreed along with the start of negotiations between the EU and India on an investment protection agreement. Both are to take place parallel to one another.
In line with our new trade agenda and as in all negotiations on investment protection agreements, we are advocating for the following in the EU-India negotiations: (1) a further strengthening of governments’ right to regulate, (2) a focus on national treatment and on protection against direct expropriation. Beyond this, (3) for a future exclusion of investments that harm the climate from the scope of application.
The negations began in 2007, were suspended in 2012 and resumed in 2022.
EU-Latin America
The first EU FTAs to be concluded with Latin American countries were the Global Agreement with Mexico of 2000 and the Association Agreement with Chile of 2005. Going far beyond the scope of a mere free trade agreement, the Association Agreement and the Global Agreement also provide a broad contractual basis for political dialogue, economic relations, and economic cooperation. The EU and Mexico achieved agreement in principle on the key elements of a trade section of a modernised EU-Mexico Global Agreement on 28 April 2020 (https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/de/ip_20_756). The details include future freedom from tariffs for 99% of all goods traded between the EU and Mexico. Transitional periods and quotas are initially envisaged for certain agricultural goods. In total, 340 food products from the EU will be protected by designations of geographical origin. Investor-state disputes are to be resolved by a publicly legitimised investment court. The new agreement is to cover not only market access but also issues like sustainability, regulatory cooperation and the fight against corruption. Once the text of the agreement has undergone legal scrubbing and been translated into all EU languages, the modernised agreement then needs to be signed, approved by the Council and the European Parliament, and ratified by the Member States. In line with the Federal Government’s trade agenda, Joint Decisions on the legally binding interpretation of certain investment protection standards are required in the cases of Chile and of Mexico (similar to CETA) before Germany can ratify the agreement.
The trade section of the EU’s Association Agreement with Central America entered into force provisionally at the end of 2013. It was the first agreement to be signed between the EU and a region. Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua and Panama are all involved in the agreement. The EU’s plurilateral agreement with Colombia and Peru entered into force provisionally in 2013. Ecuador acceded to the agreement in January 2017.
The framework for the EU’s relations with Ukraine is provided by the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (PCA), which was signed in 2014 and entered into force in September 2017. Among other aspects, it provides for the creation of a Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA). This notably includes a mutual opening up of markets by removing tariff barriers and the adoption of legal and economic EU standards by Ukraine.
Within only a few days after the beginning of the Russian war of aggression on Ukraine on 24 February 2022, Ukraine decided to apply for membership in the European Union. The European Commission has checked the application and issued a statement on 17 June 2022, recommending to grant Ukraine the prospect of EU membership and candidate status. On 24 June 2022, the European Council followed this recommendation.
In a move to support Ukraine in the Russian war of aggression, the European Council adopted a Regulation on 25 June 2022 that allows for a temporary liberalisation of trade and other trade-related concessions for certain Ukrainian goods. Specifically, all import tariffs on Ukrainian exports to the EU were waived for one year. This measure has since been extended for another year until 5 June 2024, so as to further support Ukraine.
