What is a good trade agreement in the 21st century ?
From “do not harm” to “doing good”
An event co-chaired by Marie-Pierre Vedrenne, Vice-Chair of the INTA Committee & Pascal Canfin, Chair of the ENVI Committee
10h15 - 11h10: 1ère table-ronde « Les nouvelles règles pour le commerce 2.0: concurrence loyale, réciprocité et développement durable »
– Mme Luisa SANTOS, Directrice des relations internationales chez Business Europe et membre du groupe d’experts de la Commission européenne sur les accords commerciaux
– M. Daniel AZEVEDO, Directeur du département produits de base, commerce et technologies, COPA COGECA
– Nikolaos ZAIMIS, Unité du développement durable, DG Commerce
Modérée par Karin KARLSBRO, eurodéputée du groupe Renew, Coordinatrice Commission INTA
11h10 - 12h00: 2ème table-ronde « Construire une nouvelle grammaire pour le commerce: la boîte à outils pour faire face aux défis environnementaux et au changement climatique »
– Dr. Maximiliano Mendez Parra, Chef d’équipe, London School of Economics
– Mme Mathilde Dupré, Co-directrice de l’Institut Veblen
– M. Rob van der Meer, Directeur affaires européennes chez HeidelbergCement
Logistics:
Date: 10 December 2019
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Venue: European Parliament, Room PHS 5B001
Contacts:
For registration: marie.beaux at europarl.europa.eu
Trade in the 21stcentury is facing multiple challenges and tensions. Citizens all over Europe are more and more concerned by the impact of trade on the environmental, climate change, deforestation and biodiversity. In the last decade, trade agreements were designed around the principle of “do not harm”,
meaning that the implementation of trade agreements should be monitored in order to ensure the respect of social and environmental standards and consumers safety. But while we only have 10 years left to address the climate crisis in a way compatible with the Paris Agreement, it’s time to move from the “do not harm” principle to a next trade agreements that fully
contribute to address the climate crisis and to reduce inequalities in a way that is fully compatible with the 2030 sustainable development goals.
The EU, with its 500 million consumers market, has a key role to play to build the next generation of trade agreements. In recent trade agreements, the EU advocates for ambitious environmental and social clauses, including the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement on climate change.
Moreover, the Commission has recently announced the creation of a Chief Trade Enforcement Officer in charge of the EU trade policy implementation (monitoring of trade agreements, EU regulation implementation, etc.). The EU could be then an active participant in defining the new trade grammar that will lay the ground for trade agreements that actively contribute to the promotion of EU core values and principles.