- “Yeah thank you dear Chair dear members thanks for inviting us here and I can immediately connect to what Missus Fauge from the World Bank said because as you know we have such provisions as she mentioned in her recommendations in our trade agreements and in the Generalized Scheme of Preference regulation and we also take care to implement them. But let me go through these two dimensions quickly one after the other. So firstly how we anchor gender related provisions in our free trade agreements. This has been the case for over a decade since we started with trade and sustainability development chapters in the free trade agreements in the beginning as sub dimension so to speak of the labor provisions when we referred in our trade agreements to the relevant ILO conventions. The fundamental ILO conventions targeting nondiscrimination in employment and these ILO convention of course at their core have the fight and the elimination of discrimination between men and women. So these basically in the first phase are the agreements which may not have their explicit reference but implicitly cover gender dimension through the ILO conventions which are being referred in the FDA. Then in the second step in the more recent and thereby more modern free trade agreements we also have dedicated provisions on gender equality. These provisions are integral part of the FTAs and are also legally binding as before mentioned references to the ILO conventions here I can quote the most recently entered into force like the FDA with Chile, with Kenya and with New Zealand but also those which we have concluded but which are not yet enforced Indonesia where we manage this Mexico and the Macosur agreement. All these have dedicated provisions on trade and gender equality. So the exact wording of the provisions varies from agreement to agreement but they all contain commitments on the effective implementation of international agreements addressing gender equality and women's rights include including namely the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women so CEDAW. Then in other provisions in the FDA so this was the reference to the international agreements and other provisions the parties agreed to implement the agreement in a manner that promotes gender equality and to strive to ensure that its relevant law and policies provide for and promote equal rights treatment opportunities for women and men. And then the text would also mention the importance of monitoring the impact of the agreement. This then leads me a bit more towards the implementation side. Our agreements also would always include commitments on cooperation between the parties. So here the cooperation is through the trade lens also of course through all the work our colleagues in international partnerships in your Commission are doing in our partner countries. But coming back to what we in the narrower sense as trade diplomacy are doing under the FDAs is the implementation itself of the gender related provisions. Here of course we do not have so much practical experience yet because as I said these explicit provisions are a bit more recent but to take a very recent example it's Chile. Here for example we have organized the first workshop on trade and gender equality in Santiago only in June this year and also maybe to link up to what Missus Fauquet said tomorrow we'll have the very first trade and sustainability subcommittee meeting of EU and Chile under the FDA and there we will also have one agenda item on the gender issue and thereby also kind of complying with what was her second recommendation i.e. to indeed discuss these topics regularly at the fora between the parties. We have also some experience with a little bit older agreement with CETA only in terms of provision application as you know because we are still waiting and I seize this opportunity for the ratification by all member states of the EU Canada agreement. Here we have a recommendation on trade agenda already from twenty eighteen adopted by the joint committee and here we also have an ex post evaluation study of CETA are doing this with all our trade agreements and the most recent one was with CETA where indeed the dimension of trade and gender was being examined. And here the analysis showed that female workers benefited from additional employment opportunities though and to this we have also heard from the expert less than men because women are underrepresented in the exporting sectors. The study the evaluation also shows that CETA has created some business opportunities for female entrepreneurs and the engagement activities of the UN Canadian governments provided fora to discuss challenges and opportunities for women entrepreneurs and traders. So overall the ex post analysis of CETA concludes that the agreement is likely to have contributed to the sustainable development goal five on gender equality. So we as I said we will continue to monitor this also for other agreements and it will always be reflected in the ex post and of course in the ex ante evaluations when we start new negotiations. Maybe a little side remark away from the FDAs I already mentioned the Generalized Scheme of Preferences here as you are aware it also foresees that we monitor the respect by the beneficiary countries of the principles of core international conventions promoting women's rights and gender equality. This is obviously particularly important for the GSP plus countries where we would pin them down during the monitoring missions and the monitoring reports. But we have also here seen indeed that the export opportunities created by the preferential access to the EU market does indeed support gender equality. Here one example may be the midterm evaluation of the GSP regulation concluded that for in the example of Ethiopia the growth in the export of floriculture indeed created new jobs and contributed to women's economic participation in that area. And we would certainly find similar things in the garment sector in many of our key GSP beneficiary countries. So GSP would also be part of our toolbox in this regard. Of course then maybe to conclude also to open the horizon we as the EU are also active in international fora at multilateral level in the WTO. We are an active member of the informal working group on trade and gender and then as again a bit more practically we have worked with the International Trade Center to develop studies on how to look at WTO work and WTO agreements with a gender lens and how to support the adoption of gender dimensions in trade policies. So now of course I could give a long presentation also what we do on cooperation but as we're focusing on trade I will end here. Thank you very much.”
Free trade agreements (FTAs) · Gender roles, equality and inclusion · EU development policy (gender conditionality)
- “So we as the EU have also, I think, a responsibility to see what we can do together with Canada, be it under CETA or be it because of our geopolitical and geo economic interests or obligations. Um, then, um, on the question of MEP Amato, I think I made already the point that we think our agreements are balanced and the proposals we are making are balanced, and we think we can see this in the reaction from our partners also, who also to come back to the question of autonomous autonomous measures, who also appreciate this platform to discuss the things they find a bit more challenging from our side of things, which come up after the agreement. Then to conclude on the questions of Chairman Lange and the question which also came up a bit earlier. How do we promote environmental goods and services? This in the FTA, of course, as you said, is not obvious on the tariff side because the tariffs would be lowered in any case. But it can be done, for example, through provisions on on procurement where the environmental aspect of goods could be a favorite. We could also think beyond the FDA's and the WTO context was already mentioned. You are certainly also all aware of the ongoing initiative of a number of smaller countries for an agreement on climate clauses, climate friendly trade and sustainability, where environmental goods and services would be particularly favoured. So I have to admit, it's not obvious, and we see this in the relation with the New Zealand, where we even have a list of environmental goods and services, which I think is very good, a very good signal.”
Climate efforts · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · Green Taxonomy
- “But how do we promote this? Even more is the practical question which we have to look into. As for the mini deals you refer to, and mainly CPTPP, which is the most glamorous one because the most newest one and shiniest one, which we are seeing quite some progress now with South Africa. We have discussed with them and other colleagues will have debrief you or will debrief you on this, but this will, of course, always contain a sustainability dimension. I think this is obvious. It is. It is part of the of the whole and holistic approach we have to take. But as you have seen from all our other kinds of agreements, which are not concessionary or no real free trade agreement, but rather memoranda, the intensity of the obligation is also always calibrated to what we commit to at the at the market access level. So when the partners give a lot or we give a lot on that level, then of course the TSD provisions have to be all the tighter. If it's more a memorandum of understanding, a commitment to work closely together, we can, of course not expect that the partners expect accept the full monty of of our TSD provisions. Um, but this is, I think, natural and it's in the nature of of each agreement. Then, um, regarding communication, I think, um, this study as it allows to dispel some fears, mainly regarding regression, can help us to communicate the aspect of sustainability and trade agreements more.”
Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · Asia-Pacific
- “But if, as you describe the bigger geopolitical picture, this is only one element and we are facing really, really big challenges. You all know this. When you open the news in the morning and hear a new, um, threats from across the Atlantic, this affects all our trade agreements. And you will we are seeing and you have heard this from my colleagues. Certainly we are seeing also more interest, of course, from partners in concluding trade agreements with the EU, because and this is maybe to conclude, because the question came up, why would they come to us? Because we are reliable partners. We see trade agreements holistic in a holistic way. We don't see it as an exploitative approach, and we take into account other in namely also the sustainability criteria. And maybe to conclude, because this is sometimes forgotten, we also help the not so rich partner countries to really implement these provisions. So we would not only write into an FTA, you have to comply with this and that convention. If we know and we learn and we see that the partner has not the capacities and administrative or financial, then through our other instruments as we which we have as the EU in terms of international partnerships, then we also support them to really comply with the provisions they have signed up to. Thank you.”
Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · Sustainable corporate governance
- “And I hope you will hear this then also from our dogs, that our doors are open not only at the one date of a civil society forum or at the one date eight when we have a committee with our partners. But they can always come to us because we also want their expertise. We want the to use the expertise of the, uh, domestic advisory groups in particular, but of civil society in general to know what's happening on the ground. After all, we have a network of EU delegations. This is one thing, but in the end, we are sitting here in Brussels and need need input from others who see how the situation develops on the ground. Um, then, uh, on the remarks of honourable member Lynn Boylan, on Boylan, on on CETA in particular, there is an impact assessment of the CETA agreement ongoing. You we will conclude this or the contract will conclude this probably next month or next to next month. So this will be then there will be an opportunity to discuss this in particular. Now, of course, the focus on Canada is is very important. Canada is the country most affected by the new US administration. 75% of Canadian exports are going to the US. So if this is being cut and burden, Canada will most probably face a very serious economic crisis and Canadians put very high hopes in our relationship also, in particular in the CETA agreement, because of the treatment they are under by their closest neighbour and closest economic partner.”
EU engagement with civil society · EU-US trade relations
- “Thank you very much, chairman. Dear Bernd Lange, honourable members, thanks for inviting me here to present the outcome of the study, the ex-post evaluation of the impact of EU FTAs on key environmental impact environmental aspects, including climate. This is not the only kind of evaluation and study we do on free trade agreements. You know this we do during the negotiations or at the beginning, a sustainability impact assessment. Then we analyze the economic impact of the agreement once it is negotiated. And then in the end, we do ex-post evaluations of the provisions and policies after they have been implemented after a few years. The specificity of this study is that it's the first time that we do a cross agreement study. Usually we do these evaluations agreement by agreement. But here we chose also at your inspiration, an horizontal overview across several agreements and several countries, because we wanted to address the public concerns about the interplay between EU trade policy and its environmental ambitions set out in the Green Deal. So this study is, as I said, in the first of its kind, in terms of covering a broader scope of agreements. The study was awarded to a consortium led by Ikarus, together with the Institute for European Environmental Policy and the center for European Policy Studies. Inception report was presented to civil society in January 2004, and the draft final report was presented in a Civil Society Dialogue in February this year, and it's available online now, as we haven't received any further comments from civil society.”
Climate efforts · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · Green Taxonomy
- “Yeah, thank you very much. Thank you very much for the questions and especially the colleague from the World Bank has, I think, made a very strong case for the economic rationale of gender equality and this integration of this dimension in trade agreements and their implementation. And this is maybe also the most important answer to those who are promoting a backlash. And I think we can indeed see some tendencies worldwide. This kind of backlash is economically obviously absolutely irrational. And as the colleague said, we have the figures and the evidence. Which leads me to the question on evaluation on our side where we in fact do not only measure the economic impact, of course, that we do in terms of women entrepreneurs, so often quoted, but also women employees. But we would also respect the labor relations dimension, as I mentioned, as it is about compliance with the ILO fundamental conventions on equality but also a bit going beyond. In those agreements where we have explicit reference to SEAD, we would also look into those dimensions which are not most narrowly economic ones on enforcement of the provisions. Indeed, they are subject to dispute settlement in a number of our FTAs, so they are anyways binding but also could be enforced through a dispute settlement. So we have in that regard strong provisions but in practice, as you know, we always give preference to dialogue and cooperation. And here, through the subcommittees on trade and sustainable development, we have the fora and the framework where we can confront partner countries if there were an issue and where on the other hand we can cooperate, collaborate on best practices and work together in order to promote these concerns together with the countries with whom we have free trade agreements. This also indirectly replies to the question on the re-enforcement report. Were there cases, then they would be reflected in the enforcement report, but so far we have not had anything which would reach this stage and the need to be reflected in the enforcement report. But yes, indeed, that could be something which you could find there if it were to become an issue. On the concrete question of the EU position on or the Commission position on global trade and gender arrangement promoted by Chile, New Zealand, and Canada, this is obviously something which we see very positively and which we support. But for the Commission, we have given preference to engagement in the WTO context and there in the working group on trade and gender and therefore have not as such adhered to this. Also, we should keep in mind that regarding those countries which have already adhered or who are promoters of this arrangement, with them we have free trade agreements, so the ground seems to be covered from our side. Thank you very much.”
EU policy on labour exploitation in global supply chains · Gender roles, equality and inclusion
- “Thank you very much. Chairman. Thank you very much, dear members. And maybe let me start with the question of how successful are we in continuing to introduce TSD commitments into our trade agreements here? Um, Mr. Warburton was a bit skeptical. Um, let me take the example of India, which indeed is the most challenging one and the most current one. Last week we had the last round of negotiations, and we saw some progress indeed on this chapter, which until now we hadn't seen. So this just adds a little spotlight, shows that it still it is important and pays out to insist on these provisions. And we find them indeed very balanced in the vision of the entire trade agreement. This study proves that they are well inscribed into these agreements, and we can assure you that we will keep tabling them in the negotiations. So this is, I think, the most important message. We have committed ourselves to this through our communication on on trade and sustainability in 2022. We have been implementing it ever since. But you have to also, and we have to also keep in mind that this is always a negotiation. So there is one thing that we table a provision. And this now particular refers to what the honourable member Benifei said. We tabled provisions which would be accompanied by the possibility to impose sanctions. But of course, we as the Commission, we as the EU, cannot guarantee that this always will end up in the text of the agreement like it did with New Zealand.”
Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · EU-India relations
- “But we remain committed to this because it's an important message also. And then also to member benefit. The revision clauses will be activated. You will be soon seeing here also in the committee our proposal to Chile where revision clause is in particularly laid down by both partners. Today we are presenting it to Council. It will soon come to you. And so here we are, of course, on our toes to ensure that we can also further develop the agreements which had not maybe the full scope of TSD provisions, which we would have wished for, or which we are wishing for today. Then, on the question of MEPs by on the involvement of Dax, this also came from MEP Vega later. So in the study Dark members were consulted by the by the contractor. Dark members here in the EU but also on the other side. I cannot tell you now whether each and every individual one. But they were part of those being interviewed because indeed we want their their knowledge and their know how also for this study and um, and this is of course, important civil society fora were organized at the inception of this study when the when the expert presented their study plans. And civil society was then also in a forum involved at the end of the study, inviting final comments on the on the final draft. Um, but of course, we were also, in the meantime, always open to contacts with civil society. Maybe this is maybe a general message.”
Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Free trade agreements (FTAs) · EU engagement with civil society
- “Because some of you might remember, there were some fears many years ago when we started with all this. So the study also takes into account some limitations. Obviously, this the scope of the environmental and climate provisions in FTAs is rather broad. So it's not always obvious to establish a clear and direct causal link between partner countries behaviour and the FTA commitments. Secondly, we also are mindful that the trade and sustainability provisions in the FTA are only one element of a more complex network of dialogues and framework between the EU and partner countries. You know that we do not only have FTAs with some countries. Think of Canada where we also have the Green Alliance and with other countries also, we have close cooperation on environmental and climate topics. And thirdly, we should also keep in mind that it's not only us in the EU who might be working towards a more climate and environmental friendly world. The partner countries might be doing that by themselves, even independently of the FTA. So we can of course not exclude that the countries were developing their own environmental and climate regulations in parallel to the EU. The study then, is looking at selected multilateral environmental agreements, namely the Paris Agreement on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species, or Cites, as well as at commitments on non deforestation.”
Trade impact on forests · Climate efforts · Free trade agreements (FTAs)
- “And we analyze them or actually not us, but the contractor analyzed the usual assessment criteria effectiveness, effectiveness, efficiency, coherence and relevance. So in summary, as the chairman had already revealed in general terms, the studies assessment is positive insofar as the implementation of the environmental provisions in FTAs has contributed positively to environment and climate. In the five parameters covered by the study, which I mentioned before, and in particular, the agreements have not led to any regression on environmental and climate standards in our partner countries to encourage trade or attract investment. So more specifically, the climate and environmental provisions in EU FTAs generally meet their objective and are effective. They are also efficient. The benefits of meeting the objectives outweigh the costs for stakeholders. And finally, the environmental clauses, as the study finds, are both coherent and relevant as regards the non-regression clauses in EU FTAs. They ensure that baseline environmental protection levels are maintained. There is no evidence of backsliding observed. Implementing the environmental provisions in the agreements brings about benefits such as promoting regulatory alignment, fostering sustainable trade, enhancing dialogue and supporting the green transition, and as such, these benefits generally outweigh the costs. Then. The study also finds that the environmental provisions in EU FTA stimulate dialogue and information exchange on multilateral environmental agreement between the partner countries, and they provide an impetus for partner countries to ratify multilateral environmental agreements and to implement them.”
Trade impact on forests · Climate efforts · Free trade agreements (FTAs)
- “Firstly, on process. The study thinks we should improve communication on what we are doing and in our context with the partner countries should avoid the impression of imposing EU priorities to partners. We should communicate our autonomous measures more clearly to partners, and we should strengthen the domestic advisory groups on both sides. And you will be discussing this later on substance. This study also, and with this I conclude, presents the following recommendations. We should develop a joint process of standard setting in competitive environment with like minded partners. Secondly, we should make procurement processes more simple and transparent. This will help propagate environmental goods and services. We should increase the scope of trade for environmental goods and services. We should also support partners financially even more where needed, and we should further strengthen the process of alliance building and continue collaborating with partners at multilateral level. As you can see, these recommendations give us a good indication on the way forward. We will, um, present also the study in a commission staff working document, kind of formalizing it, where we'll also refer to these recommendations. So in short, the conclusion I think of the study is that our TSD chapters are working and that this is a successful approach. And this is why we are also continuing this in the ongoing negotiations, as you know, with India, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines and Malaysia. Thank you very much.”
Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights)
- “The agreements provide a platform for intergovernmental exchange and cooperation on regulatory issues. We issues we do this in the framework of our trade and sustainability committees, which meet regularly, and where we essentially confront each other with our concerns or also sometimes celebrate our joint successes. We are just the in today and tomorrow, having meetings with our Canadian counterparts in the EU, CETA and the Trade and Sustainability Committee. And you will even see some, uh, colleagues cooperating in this framework later in the in your session on the DAGs. Um, the dialogue also goes beyond the multilateral environmental agreements laid down there, because they give also a very important platform for discussion on our autonomous measures. So think of UDR and Cbam measures, which we as EU have taken and which are not, um, rooted in multilateral agreements. But here our partners are appreciative of having a platform for discussing them as well. Um, then the study finds that EU FTAs facilitate multilateral collaboration on environmental challenges thanks to mechanism justice, joint initiatives on biodiversity, climate and circular economy. And the study also finds that the FDA's advance trade of environmental goods and services reducing trade barriers. The study also contains some recommendations.”
Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) · Circular economy · Free trade agreements (FTAs)
- “Um, as you are fully aware, there are currently 14 trade agreements with 21 countries, which include chapters on trade and sustainable development with commitments to environmental protection and other sustainability oriented provisions. This study here focused on a sample of seven agreements and eight countries, the countries being Canada, Costa Rica, Georgia, Honduras, Japan, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The study is a qualitative analysis of the impact of environmental and climate provisions in those FTAs, and their study is based on desk analysis, interviews with various stakeholders here and in the partner countries and accompanied by 20 case studies and covering eight countries, including additionally, Colombia, Ecuador, Republic of Korea and Moldova. And the case studies also serve to illustrate a bit more what the provisions mean and their implementation in practice means. The study tried to assess the impact of FTAs on environmental and climate provisions in our partner countries, focusing on five cross-cutting parameters. Firstly, the questions have our trading partners signed up to and are they adhering to multilateral environmental agreements? Secondly, are FTAs, fostering regulatory cooperation between us, the EU and the respective partners. Thirdly, are the FTAs promoting the establishment of multilateral alliances on climate and environmental policy. Fourthly, are the FTAs achieving the dissemination of environmental goods and services? And fifthly, and this was maybe in hindsight, one of the main concerns are FTAs ensuring that there is no regression on baseline levels of environmental and climate protection.”
Due diligence in supply chains (environmental and human rights) · Climate efforts · Free trade agreements (FTAs)