WTO members consider five regional trade agreements
The Committee considered the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United Kingdom and Australia, goods and services, which entered into force on 31 May 2023. Under the Agreement, all imports of goods from the UK into Australia will be duty-free by 2028, and 98.9% of the UK's tariff lines will be duty-free by 2033 for its imports from Australia. On trade in services, the Agreement follows a negative list approach, meaning all sectors other than those listed are open to foreign service suppliers under the same conditions as for domestic service suppliers. This builds on the parties’ General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) commitments to grant more preferential treatment for services suppliers and investments. The Agreement includes, among other things, provisions on environment, labour, and small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs). It also addresses topics such as innovation and gender equality.
The UK furthermore cited at the meeting the Agreement's forward-looking provisions on investment flows and digital trade as well as the Agreement's chapter establishing a dialogue between parties to bolster innovation. Australia said the Agreement is one of its most comprehensive, innovative and ambitious FTAs, noting that it creates new export opportunities, reduces import costs, and eases the cost-of-living pressures for consumers.
The Committee also considered the Free Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and New Zealand, goods and services, which entered into force on 31 May 2023. Under the Agreement, New Zealand liberalized all tariffs on UK imports at entry into force while the UK will liberalize all tariffs by 2038. On trade in services, the Agreement follows a negative list approach and builds on the parties’ GATS commitments to grant more preferential treatment for services and investments.
The Agreement also includes commitments for the benefit of women, indigenous people, digitalization, consumers, SMEs and the environment — including through disciplines on fisheries subsidies and fossil fuel subsidies, the UK said. The Agreement is robust and forward looking and provides a strong basis for the parties' bilateral relationship which is expected to flourish further over the years, the UK said. The depth and breadth of the Agreement reflects the parties' desire to protect these beneficiaries, New Zealand said, adding that annual bilateral trade has grown around 10% under this high-standard FTA.
For the Strategic Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and Ukraine, goods and services, which entered into force on 1 January 2021, each party will liberalize more than 96% of its respective tariffs by the end of implementation, providing a continuation of the preferential trade relationship between the UK and Ukraine. It preserves most of the commitments between the parties established under the Association Agreement between the European Union and Ukraine. The parties also built on their GATS commitments to grant preferential treatment for their respective services and investments.
The UK, speaking on behalf of both parties, noted furthermore a temporary amendment to liberalize all tariffs until March 2029 except for poultry and eggs which have been liberalized for two years until March 2026. This aims to provide Ukraine with much needed support at a time when the country's ability to export goods has been disrupted, the UK said. A groundbreaking digital agreement entered into force on 1 September 2024 to boost productivity, jobs and growth, the UK added.
The Committee also considered the entry into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) for Brunei Darussalam, Chile and Malaysia, goods and services. The CPTPP entered into force for Malaysia on 29 November 2022, for Chile on 21 February 2023, and for Brunei Darussalam on 12 July 2023. Thus, as of 12 July 2023, the CPTPP has been in force for all its original 11 signatories — which also includes Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Viet Nam.
Under the CPTPP's catch-up mechanism, the three parties implemented at entry into force all tariff reductions initially foreseen under the Agreement, while the end of implementation of tariff commitments differs amongst them — 2025 for Chile, 2028 for Brunei Darussalam and 2033 for Malaysia. Once fully implemented, all of Brunei Darussalam's tariff lines will be duty-free for other CPTPP parties. Chile will do so for 99.9% of its tariff lines, and Malaysia will do so for 99.8% of its tariff lines. On trade in services, the parties committed to expand on the sectors under liberalization beyond their commitments under the GATS.
Brunei, Chile and Malaysia said the CPTPP provides them new trading opportunities. They also welcomed the forthcoming accession of the UK to the CPTPP on 15 December.
Parties to the CPTPP have highlighted that currently their work is focused on three main subjects: the CPTPP general review; improving the utilization of the Agreement; and designing a precise path for accession of new parties. The forthcoming accession of the United Kingdom to the CPTPP was also noted by many delegations.
The Committee considered the trade in services aspects of the Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and Montenegro. Originally covering only trade in goods, the FTA was amended to include services liberalization through Protocol III, signed on 17 July 2019 and effective from 1 July 2022. The Agreement marks Türkiye's sixth RTA with a services component notified to the WTO and Montenegro's third. It applies to all measures affecting trade in services and, following a positive list approach, expands the parties' specific commitments under the GATS. The Agreement also includes, among other things, provisions on intellectual property rights and e-commerce.
Türkiye said business services, construction, distribution services and recreational services were among the sectors liberalized beyond the parties' GATS commitments. Montenegro said the Agreement also improves conditions for tourism, telecommunications and professional services. The services protocol reflects both parties' shared commitment to foster an open and transparent market environment based on non-discrimination and reciprocity, Montenegro said.
The Committee also took note of six notifications of regional trade agreements since its last session in July 2024, and of two notifications of changes to already notified RTAs. Members were also informed that the WTO Secretariat circulated a list of 56 RTAs currently in force that had not been notified to the WTO. The Secretariat is in contact with relevant parties to provide notifications. The Secretariat also reported on technical cooperation activities conducted in 2024 and planned for 2025.
The Committee agreed to reduce the number of meetings per year and their duration for a trial period of two years. The Secretariat provided an update on progress reached in adopting new online tools to better serve members, such as the use of the e-Agenda and the development of an RTAs and Integrated Database data submissions portal. The Committee also adopted the Report of the CRTA for 2024, to be submitted to the General Council.
Next meeting
The next Committee meeting is scheduled for 18 March 2025.
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