European Union free trade agreements

The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs)[1] and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others.[2]

EU Free trade agreements

  European Union

  Agreement in force

  Agreement (in part) provisionally applied

  Agreement signed, but not applied

  Agreement initialed, not signed

  Agreement being negotiated

  Agreement negotiations on hold/suspended

The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU has an "exclusive competence" to conclude trade agreements. Even so, member states governments control every step of the process (via the Council of Ministers, whose members are national ministers from each national government).

• Before negotiations start, member states governments (via the Council of Ministers) approve the negotiating mandate;
• During negotiations, member states governments are regularly briefed on the progress of negotiations and can update the negotiations mandate or suspend negotiations;
• Upon conclusion of negotiations, member states governments decide whether the agreement should be signed;
• After approval from the European Parliament and (in case the agreement covers areas other than trade such as investment protection) upon ratification in each member state parliament, member states governments decide whether the agreement should be concluded and enter into effect.

Trade agreements in force

State	Signed	Provisional Application	In Force	Notes	Relations
Akrotiri and Dhekelia	2003		2004[3]	Customs union
Albania	2006	2006[lower-alpha 1]	2009[4]	SAA	Negotiating for EU accession
Algeria	2002		2005[5]	Euro-mediterranean AA
Andorra	1990		1991[6]	Customs union	Andorra–EU relations
Bosnia and Herzegovina	2008	2008[lower-alpha 1]	2015[7]	SAA	Potential candidate for EU accession
Chile	2002	2003	2005[8]	AA[9]
Egypt	2001		2004[10]	Euro-mediterranean AA
Faroe Islands	1996		1997[11]	Autonomous entity of Denmark	Faroe Islands-EU relations
Georgia	2014	2014	2016[12]	AA incl DCFTA	Georgia–EU relations
Bailiwick of Guernsey	1972		1973[13]	Customs union
Iceland	1992		1994[14]	EEA	Iceland–EU relations
Isle of Man	1972		1973[13]	Customs union
Israel	1995	1996[lower-alpha 1][15]	2000[16]	Euro-Mediterranean AA	Israel–EU relations
Japan	2018[17]	No	2019[18]	Economic Partnership Agreement [19]	Japan-EU relations
Bailiwick of Jersey	1972		1973[13]	Customs union
Jordan	1997		2002[20]	Euro-Mediterranean AA	Jordan–EU relations
Kosovo	2015		2016[21]	SAA	Potential candidate for EU accession
Lebanon	2002		2006[22]	Euro-Mediterranean AA	Lebanon–EU relations
Liechtenstein	1992		1995[14]	EEA	Liechtenstein–EU relations
Mexico	1997		2000[23]	FTA[24][25]	Mexico–EU relations
Moldova	2014	2014	2016[26]	AA incl DCFTA	Moldova–EU relations
Monaco			1958	Franco-Monegasque Treaty (customs union)
Montenegro	2007	2008[lower-alpha 1]	2010[27]	SAA	Negotiating for EU accession
Morocco	1996		2000[28]	Euro-Mediterranean AA	Morocco–EU relations
North Macedonia	2001	2001[lower-alpha 1]	2004[29]	SAA	Negotiating for EU accession
Norway	1992		1994[14]	EEA	Norway–EU relations
EU's Overseas Countries and Territories	2001		2001[30][31]	Association of the OCTs with the EU
Palestinian Authority	1997		1997[32]	Euro-Mediterranean AA	Palestine–EU relations
San Marino	1991	1992[lower-alpha 2]	2002[33]	Customs union	San Marino–EU relations
Serbia	2008	2010[lower-alpha 1]	2013[34]	SAA	Negotiating for EU accession
Singapore	2018[35]		2019[36]	FTA[37]
South Africa	1999	2000[38]	2004[39]	ATDC[lower-alpha 3]	South Africa–EU relations
South Korea	2010	2011	2015[40]	FTA[41]	South Korea–EU relations
Switzerland	1972		1973[42]	Trade agreement	Switzerland–EU relations
Tunisia	1995		1998[43]	Euro-Mediterranean AA
Turkey	1995[lower-alpha 4]		1995[44]	Customs union	EU–Turkey relations
United Kingdom	2020[45]		2020	Transitional arrangement until 31 December 2020	UK–EU relations
Ukraine	2014	2016	2017[46][47]	AA incl DCFTA	Ukraine–EU relations
Vietnam	2019		2020[48]	Free Trade Agreement[49]	Vietnam–European Union relations

Agreements provisionally applied

State	Signed	Provisional Application	Ratification	Notes	Relations
CARIFORUM States	2008	2008	35 / 44 [50]	EPA - Croatia acceded to the agreement on 28 November 2017
Eastern and Southern Africa States  Comoros  Madagascar  Mauritius  Seychelles  Zambia[51]  Zimbabwe	2009	2012, 2019	5 / 35 [52]	Interim Agreement for establishing a framework for an EPA
Central America  Costa Rica  Guatemala  Honduras  Nicaragua  Panama  El Salvador	2012	2013	31 / 34 [53]	AA
Côte d'Ivoire	2009	2016	22 / 30 [54]	Stepping Stone EPA
Colombia  Peru	2012[55]	2013	28 / 30 [56]	FTA[57]
Cameroon	2009	2014	21 / 30 [58]	Interim agreement with a view to an EPA
Pacific States  Fiji  Papua New Guinea  Samoa  Solomon Islands	2009	2009, 2014, 2018, 2020	4 / 5 [59]	Interim Partnership Agreement
South African Development Community members  Botswana  Lesotho  Mozambique  Namibia  South Africa  Swaziland	2016	2016	16 / 35 [60]	Economic Partnership Agreement
Ghana	2016	2016[61]	7 / 30 [61]	Stepping Stone EPA
Ecuador	2016[62]	2017[63]	26 / 32 [64]	Accession to EU-Peru-Colombia Free Trade Agreement[65]
Canada	2016	2017[66]	15 / 30 [67]	Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement[68]

Agreements signed (awaiting application)

State	Negotiations Concluded	Signed	Provisional Application	Ratification	Notes

Agreements finalised (negotiations concluded, but not signed)

State	Negotiations Concluded	Signed	Provisional Application	Ratification	Notes
West Africa  Benin  Burkina Faso  Cabo Verde  Côte d'Ivoire  Gambia  Ghana  Guinea  Guinea-Bissau  Liberia  Mali  Mauritania  Niger  Nigeria  Senegal  Sierra Leone  Togo	6 February 2014	Signed by 15 out of 16 West African partner countries and the EU[69]			Economic Partnership Agreement[70][71]
Eastern African Community members  Burundi  Kenya  Rwanda  Tanzania  Uganda	16 October 2014	Signed by 2 out of 5 East African partner countries and the EU[72]	Ratified by  Rwanda and  Kenya		Economic Partnership Agreement[73]
Mercosur  Argentina  Brazil  Paraguay  Uruguay	28 June 2019[74]	No			European Union–Mercosur Free Trade Agreement. Part of an Association Agreement.

Negotiating

• Gulf Cooperation Council (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and United Arab Emirates) since 1990, negotiations are suspended since 2008
• India Negotiations initiated in 2007 on EU-India Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement are stalled as of March 2015 due to different levels of ambition for a future deal.[75][76][77]
• ASEAN as a group since July 2007 and the following individual countries[78]:
  • Indonesia since September 2016
  • Malaysia since October 2010, suspended since April 2012 due to different levels of ambition for a future deal
  • Thailand since March 2013, suspended since May 2014 due to the military "takeover"
  • Philippines since December 2015, on hold since February 2017
• Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area negotiations:
  • Morocco since March 2013, suspended since April 2014 due to an ongoing impact assessment by Morocco
  • Tunisia since October 2015
• Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) (United States–EU relations) since July 2013
• Australia since June 2018[79][80]
• New Zealand since June 2018[81]
• European Union Association Agreements negotiations with Andorra, Monaco and San Marino since 2016
• Pacific EPA Accession negotiations with Tonga since 2018 and Tuvalu since 2019
• United Kingdom since 1 February 2020 (EU - UK FTA). If agreed, it will enter into force after the end the transitional arrangements set out in the Withdrawal Agreement. The Johnson government has set a target date of 31st December 2020 for the end of the transitional arrangements.

Competence

The European Court of Justice has held that investor-state Arbitration provisions (including a dedicated tribunal planned by some free trade agreements) falls under competency shared between European Union and its member states and that for this reason, their ratification should be approved by the EU as well as by each of the 28 states.[82]

Impact

One study found that the trade agreements that the EU implemented over the period 1993-2013 "lowered quality-adjusted prices by close to 7%."[83]

See also

• Economic Partnership Agreements
• EU-ACP
• EUR.1 movement certificate
• Euro-Mediterranean free trade area
• European Union Association Agreement
• Everything but Arms
• Free trade area
• Free trade areas in Europe
• List of bilateral free trade agreements
• List of free trade agreements
• List of the largest trading partners of the European Union
• Trade deal negotiation between the UK and EU (2020)
• Trade defence instrument
• United States free trade agreements

Notes

1. Entry into force of Interim Agreement
2. Interim Agreement
3. Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation
4. Decision of the EC-Turkey Association Council

References

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3. Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded - Protocol No 3 on the sovereign base areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Cyprus
4. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
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6. "Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
7. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
8. "Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Chile, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
9. "Chile - Trade - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
10. "Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement between the European Communities and its Member States and the Arab Republic of Egypt". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
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18. "EU-Japan trade agreement will enter into force on 1 February 2019". 21 December 2018. Today, the EU and Japan notified each other of the completion of their respective ratification procedures.
19. "Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Japan". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union.
20. "Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
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26. "Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Moldova, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
27. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States of the one part, and the Republic of Montenegro, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
28. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 7 August 2013.
29. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
30. "Council Decision 2013/755/EU of 25 November 2013 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Union". EUR-Lex. 19 December 2013.
31. "Council Decision 2001/822/EC of 27 November 2001 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Community". EUR-Lex. 27 November 2001.
32. "Euro-Mediterranean Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation between the European Community, of the one part, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
33. "Agreement on Cooperation and Customs Union between the European Economic Community and the Republic of San Marino". Retrieved 29 October 2015.
34. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
35. "Singapore, EU ink landmark free trade agreement". www.channelnewsasia.com. Retrieved 21 December 2018. [...] the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) was signed by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong with European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker, European Council president Donald Tusk and Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz. [...] The leaders also witnessed the signing of the EU-Singapore Investment Protection Agreement (EUSIPA) – a pact that will replace 12 existing bilateral investment treaties between Singapore and EU member states to offer better investment protection – and the EU-Singapore Partnership and Cooperation Agreement (ESPCA).
36. "Council Decision on the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore". [...] the Agreement should enter into force on 21 November 2019 in agreement with the Singaporean side
37. "Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Republic of Singapore". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 29 October 2018.
38. "Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the Community and South Africa, which provides for the provisional application of a portion of the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation between the European Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the Republic of South Africa, on the other part". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
39. "Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation between the European Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the Republic of South Africa, on the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
40. "Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
41. "EUR-Lex - L:2011:127:TOC - EN - EUR-Lex". eur-lex.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
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43. "Euro-Mediterranean Agreement establishing an Association between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Tunisia, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
44. Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union
45. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEMO-18-6422_en.htm
46. "Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
47. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/treaties-agreements/agreement/?id=2014045
48. "Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
49. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/vietnam/
50. "Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
51. Did not sign
52. "Interim Agreement establishing a framework for an Economic Partnership Agreement between the Eastern and Southern Africa States, on the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, on the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
53. "Agreement establishing an Association between the European Union and its Member States, on the one hand, and Central America on the other". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
54. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
55. EU signs FTA
56. "Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and Colombia and Peru, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
57. EU FTA agreements with Colombia and Central America became effective August first
58. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
59. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
60. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
61. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
62. "Ecuador joins EU trade agreement with Colombia and Peru".
63. "Notice concerning the provisional application". EUR-Lex. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
64. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
65. "EU Trade Policy with the Andean Community".
66. "Canada, EU to provisionally apply CETA in September". CBC News. 8 July 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
67. "Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union.
68. "In Focus: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement".
69. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-18-5867_en.htm
70. http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/september/tradoc_144912.pdf
71. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/west-africa/
72. http://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/trade/itemdetail.cfm?item_id=34138&newsletter=230
73. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/regions/eac/
74. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48807161
75. European Union Seeks Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Intervention to Resume Trade Talks
76. EU keen to restart FTA negotiations with India
77. EU Keen to Resume Negotiations on Stalled BTIA With India
78. "European Union- Vietnam Free Trade Agreement Chapter 1 to 7". Asiapedia. Dezan Shira and Associates.
79. EU and Australia launch talks for a broad trade agreement, EC Press Release Database. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
80. [https://dfat.gov.au/trade/agreements/negotiations/aeufta/Pages/default.aspx Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade: Australia-European Union Free Trade Agreement. Access Date 17 February 2020
81. "EU and New Zealand launch trade negotiations". Scoop New Zealand. 21 June 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
82. http://www.ouest-france.fr/economie/ue-pas-de-traite-commercial-sans-l-accord-des-parlements-nationaux-4994855
83. Berlingieri, Giuseppe; Breinlich, Holger; Dhingra, Swati (12 March 2018). "The consumer benefits of trade agreements: Evidence from the EU trade policy". VoxEU.org. Retrieved 12 March 2018.

External links

• Free Trade Agreements, EU Trade Helpdesk, European Commission
• Trade Flows, Animated infographics, European Parliamentary Research Service
• Articles on EU FTAs, at Agritrade
• The Transatlantic Colossus: Global Contributions to Broaden the Debate on the EU-US Free Trade Agreement A collaborative publication with over 20 articles on the global implications of the TAFTA | TTIP
• Koeth, Wolfgang (8 December 2014) “The Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements: an Appropriate Response by the EU to the Challenges in its Neighbourhood”?