New Free Trade Agreements Open New Opportunities for Global Investors

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) is a free trade agreement between the EU and Canada. The negotiations process has finished, and the Agreement is now pending for approval by the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament. The Agreement is expected to enter into force in 2016.

The Canadian government has described it as the “most ambitious trade initiative, broader in scope and deeper in ambition than the historic North American Free Trade Agreement”. It will open new markets to investors on both sides, having abolished nearly all tariffs between the EU and Canada. It will also benefit the average citizen by creating new jobs and by making the markets more competitive.

The EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA) has left the negotiations phase. It is now awaiting ratification. Once it has entered into force, nearly tariffs between the EU and Singapore will be removed.

The treaty will not only improve existing trade relations between the EU and Singapore, but it will also serve as a foothold for European investors in Southeast Asia. The EU is now negotiating free trade agreements with other ASEAN states such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. The free trade agreements with Southeast Asian states will create jobs and promote growth in Europe due to the growing middle class of those countries, which is interested in European goods.