Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister: We must take responsibility for future trade policy
On 18 October in Luxembourg, the Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Lithuania Raimundas Karoblis attended the EU’s Foreign Affairs Council (Trade), which discussed the signature and provisional application of the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA). However, Belgium voiced concerns related to substance, while Romania and Bulgaria also made their agreement conditional on the confirmation by Canada regarding the issue of visa reciprocity.
CETA is a “mixed” agreement. This means that on the EU side, it must be signed by both the EU and the member states, and ratified by all relevant national and regional parliaments.
According to Karoblis, CETA, which is currently one of the most ambitious EU free trade agreements, could open trading not only to Lithuanian or EU exporters, but would also set an example of how to further form an open global trading.
“We have to learn the lessons and take responsibility for our role, both in shaping trade policy and informing the public about its benefits. The EU needs an effective trade policy, which would continue to significantly contribute to economic growth and job creation,” said Lithuania’s Foreign Vice-Minister.
Karoblis hoped that parties would reach consensus in the coming days and the deal would be signed, as planned, during the EU-Canada Summit on 27 October 2016.
CETA will improve market access for exports of goods and services by Lithuania. It will remove more than 99% of tariffs that are currently imposed on trade between the EU and Canada. In recent years, exports of goods and services by Lithuania to Canada has grown. It amounted to EUR 164 million in 2015. Almost all exports to Canada are of Lithuanian origin.
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