FRUCOM attends Civil Society Dialogue on trade updates and sustainability with Cecilia Malmström, EU Commissioner for Trade

27 MAY 2019

On 24 May, Cecilia Malmström, the EU Commissioner for Trade, hosted a Civil Dialogue group about trade and sustainability.

On the trade aspect, the main ideas presented by C. Malmström were:

  • The result of the Commission on trade agreements: during this mandate coming to an end on 31st October, the European Commission negotiated and concluded various Free Trade Agreements (e.g. with Japan, Canada, Vietnam, Mexico). and some Agreements are not concluded but negotiations are at an advanced stage (e.g. MERCOSUR). The Free Trade Agreement with Vietnam is being finalized but could still be signed in June.
  • The implementation of Free Trade Agreements is as important as the negotiation. The European Commission will continue increasing its attention on the implementation of the Free Trade Agreements.
  • The European Commission will continue promoting its interests and values (e.g. human rights, sustainability, etc.,) through its trade policies. For instance, in including in the Free Trade Agreements clauses on work and environmental standards, gender equality, sustainability.
  • In the past years the European Commission has made an effort on transparency. More than 6000 documents, including mandates of negotiations, reports, impact assessments, have been published.

On the sustainability aspect, C. Malmström was joined by International Trade Centre (ITC) Executive Director Arancha Gonzáles to present a study carried out by the ITC entitled "The European Union Market for Sustainable Products". Please see the report here.

According to C. Malmström and Arancha Gonzalez, the study reveals that retailers are increasingly working in partnership with suppliers – both inside and outside the EU – to introduce environmental and social standards in their supply chains. 96% of retailers interviewed implement sustainable sourcing strategies and 76% have undertaken public commitments on sustainable sourcing. The results are based on surveys of some 1800 retailers in France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

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Contact : Daniel Pérez Vega, dperezvega@frucom.eu