Today the EU-Singapore trade and investment agreements have received the approval of the European Parliament. Parliament also gave the green light to the partnership and cooperation agreement. This is an important step towards their entry into force that will boost economic relations and cooperation between the EU and Singapore and will lead to an enhanced economic presence of the EU in this rapidly growing South-East Asia region.
Singapore is undoubtedly the EU’s largest trading partner in the Southeast Asian region, with total bilateral trade worth more than € 53 billion, and trade in services worth € 51 billion. In Singapore, over 10,000 EU businesses are using the country to serve the entire Pacific region. Singapore is also the most preferred place for European investment in Asia, and in recent years the volume of bilateral investment has grown rapidly, reaching a total of 344 billion euros in 2017.
Under the trade agreement, Singapore will remove all remaining duties on EU products and will undertake not to change the existing duty-free access for all other EU products. The agreement also creates new opportunities for EU service providers, inter alia in sectors such as telecommunications, environmental services, engineering, IT and maritime transport.
The Investment Protection Agreement will ensure a high level of investment protection whilst guaranteeing EU and Singapore rights to regulate and pursue public policy objectives related to the protection of public health, safety and the environment.
