The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) recently considered four significant regional trade agreements. These agreements, involving multiple countries, aim to enhance economic cooperation and liberalize trade in goods and services.
One of the agreements reviewed was the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), which came into force on May 1, 2022. This agreement covers various sectors including goods, trade in services, movement of natural persons, investment, intellectual property rights, digital trade, and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The liberalization of trade in goods is expected to be completed by 2031. By that time, India will have eliminated customs duties on 84.7% of its tariff lines and the UAE on 97.1%. India emphasized that this agreement serves as a growth engine for bilateral trade with the UAE, offering commitments for 100 sub-sectors in services while the UAE made offers concerning 111 sub-sectors to India.
The Committee also examined the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between Indonesia and the Republic of Korea, which entered into force on January 1, 2023. This agreement aims to liberalize more than 92% of import tariffs by 2042 and builds upon existing General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments. It includes provisions covering technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, anti-dumping measures, subsidies and countervailing measures, and intellectual property rights. Both countries have committed to facilitating the movement of inter-corporate transferees, business visitors, and independent professionals.
Another agreement under consideration was the Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Cambodia which took effect on December 1, 2022. Under this agreement, South Korea will liberalize almost 95% of its tariffs while Cambodia will liberalize nearly 90% by 2041. The agreement also includes regulatory provisions on technical barriers to trade, sanitary measures, safeguards, trade defense measures, dispute settlement mechanisms as well as economic and technical cooperation in several areas. Cambodia noted significant progress since the agreement's implementation with bilateral trade reaching $1.05 billion by December 2023.
Lastly, the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom (UK), Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway was discussed. This agreement provides continuity of preferential treatment among these parties similar to when the UK was part of the European Union. It involves substantial tariff reductions across various sectors along with provisions that go beyond GATS commitments in terms of labor standards, environmental regulations electronic commerce SMEs women's economic empowerment good regulatory practices and regulatory cooperation.
The UK highlighted that this agreement reaffirms their long-standing relationship providing predictability protection opportunities for businesses investors consumers noting improvements in rules origin technical barriers sanitary phytosanitary measures ensuring continued market access broad range services sectors
In addition to these agreements seven notifications regional trade agreements were acknowledged chair noted there are currently RTAs involving WTO members non-members factual presentation prepared counting goods services separately WTO Secretariat circulated list RTAs currently force not notified WTO
The next Committee meeting is scheduled for November 18-19.