European Union free trade agreements

The European Union has concluded free trade agreements (FTAs)[1] and other agreements with a trade component with many countries worldwide and is negotiating with many others.[2]

EU Free trade agreements
  European Union
  Agreement in force
  Agreement (in part) provisionally applied
  Agreement signed, but not applied
  Agreement initialed, not signed
  Agreement being negotiated
  Agreement negotiations on hold/suspended

The European Union negotiates free trade deals on behalf of all of its member states, as the member states have granted the EU has an "exclusive competence" to conclude trade agreements. Even so, member states' governments control every step of the process (via the Council of the European Union, whose members are national ministers from each national government).

  • Before negotiations start, member states' governments (via the Council of Ministers) approve the negotiating mandate;
  • During negotiations, member states' governments are regularly briefed on the progress of negotiations and can update the negotiations mandate or suspend negotiations;
  • Upon conclusion of negotiations, member states' governments decide whether the agreement should be signed;
  • After approval from the European Parliament and (in case the agreement covers areas other than trade such as investment protection) upon ratification in each member state parliament, member states' governments decide whether the agreement should be concluded and enter into effect.

Trade agreements in force
No State No of jurisdictions representedSignedProvisional
application		In force sinceNotesRelations
1.  Akrotiri and Dhekelia 1 2003 2004[3][lower-alpha 1] Customs union
2.  Albania 1 2006 2006[lower-alpha 2] 2009[4] SAA Negotiating for EU accession
3.  Algeria 1 2002 2005[5] Euro-mediterranean AA
4.  Andorra 1 1990 1991[6] Customs union Andorra–EU relations
5.  Bosnia and Herzegovina 1 2008 2008[lower-alpha 2] 2015[7] SAA Potential candidate for EU accession
6.  Chile 1 2002 2003 2005[8] AA[9]
7.  Egypt 1 2001 2004[10] Euro-mediterranean AA
8.  Faroe Islands 1 1996 1997[11] Autonomous entity of Denmark Faroe Islands-EU relations
9.  Georgia 1 2014 2014 2016[12] AA incl DCFTA Georgia–EU relations
11  Iceland 1 1992 1994[13] EEA Iceland–EU relations
13.  Israel 1 1995 1996[lower-alpha 2][14] 2000[15] Euro-Mediterranean AA Israel–EU relations
14.  Japan 1 2018[16] 2019[17] Economic Partnership Agreement [18] Japan-EU relations
16.  Jordan 1 1997 2002[19] Euro-Mediterranean AA Jordan–EU relations
17.  Kosovo 1 2015 2016[20] SAA Potential candidate for EU accession
18.  Lebanon 1 2002 2006[21] Euro-Mediterranean AA Lebanon–EU relations
19.  Liechtenstein 1 1992 1995[13] EEA Liechtenstein–EU relations
20.  Mexico 1 1997 2000[22] FTA[23][24] Mexico–EU relations
21.  Moldova 1 2014 2014 2016[25] Moldova–European Union Association Agreement incl DCFTA Moldova–EU relations
22.  Monaco 1 1958 Franco-Monegasque Customs Convention (customs union)[26] Monaco - European Union relations
23.  Montenegro 1 2007 2008[lower-alpha 2] 2010[27] SAA Negotiating for EU accession
24.  Morocco 1 1996 2000[28] Euro-Mediterranean AA Morocco–EU relations
25.  North Macedonia 1 2001 2001[lower-alpha 2] 2004[29] SAA Negotiating for EU accession
26.  Norway 1 1992 1994[13] EEA Norway–EU relations
27.  EU's Overseas Countries and Territories 13 2001 2001[30][31] Association of the OCTs with the EU
28.  Palestinian Authority 1 1997 1997[32] Euro-Mediterranean AA Palestine–EU relations
29.  San Marino 1 1991 1992[lower-alpha 3] 2002[33] Customs union San Marino–EU relations
30.  Serbia 1 2008 2010[lower-alpha 2] 2013[34] SAA Negotiating for EU accession
31.  Singapore 1 2018[35] 2019[36] FTA[37]
32.  South Africa 1 1999 2000[38] 2004[39] ATDC[lower-alpha 4] South Africa–EU relations
33.  South Korea 1 2010 2011 2015[40] FTA[41] South Korea–EU relations
34.   Switzerland 1 1972 1973[42] Trade agreement Switzerland–EU relations
35.  Tunisia 1 1995 1998[43] Euro-Mediterranean AA
36.  Turkey 1 1995[lower-alpha 5] 1995[44] Customs union EU–Turkey relations
37.  Ukraine 1 2014 2016 2017[45][46] Ukraine–European Union Association Agreement incl DCFTA Ukraine–EU relations
38.  Vietnam 1 2019 2020[47] EVFTA[48] Vietnam–European Union relations
Total no of countries or territories the EU has trade deals with 55

Agreements provisionally applied
StateSignedProvisional
Application		RatificationNotesRelations
CARIFORUM States
 Antigua and Barbuda
 Bahamas
 Barbados
 Belize
 Dominica
 Dominican Republic
 Grenada
 Guyana
 Jamaica
 Saint Kitts and Nevis
 Saint Lucia
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
 Suriname
 Trinidad and Tobago
 Haiti		 2008 2008
35 / 44
[49]		 EPA - Croatia acceded to the agreement on 28 November 2017
Eastern and Southern Africa States
 Comoros
 Madagascar
 Mauritius
 Seychelles
 Zambia[50]
 Zimbabwe		 2009 2012, 2019
5 / 35
[51]		 Interim Agreement for establishing a framework for an EPA
Central America
 Costa Rica
 Guatemala
 Honduras
 Nicaragua
 Panama
 El Salvador		 2012 2013
32 / 34
[52]		 AA
 Côte d'Ivoire 2009 2016
22 / 30
[53]		 Stepping Stone EPA
 Colombia
 Peru		 2012[54] 2013
28 / 30
[55]		 FTA[56]
 Cameroon 2009 2014
21 / 30
[57]		 Interim agreement with a view to an EPA
Pacific States
 Fiji
 Papua New Guinea
 Samoa
 Solomon Islands		 2009 2009, 2014, 2018, 2020
4 / 5
[58]		 Interim Partnership Agreement
South African Development Community members
 Botswana
 Lesotho
 Mozambique
 Namibia
 South Africa
 Swaziland		 2016 2016
17 / 35
[59]		 Economic Partnership Agreement
 Ghana 2016 2016[60]
7 / 30
[60]		 Stepping Stone EPA
 Ecuador 2016[61] 2017[62]
26 / 32
[63]		 Accession to EU-Peru-Colombia Free Trade Agreement[64]
 Canada 2016 2017[65]
16 / 30
[66]		 Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement[67]
 United Kingdom[lower-alpha 6] 2020 2021[68]
0 / 3
[69]		 EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement

Agreements finalised (negotiations concluded, but not signed)
StateNegotiations ConcludedSignedProvisional
Application		RatificationNotes
West Africa
 Benin
 Burkina Faso
 Cabo Verde
 Côte d'Ivoire
 Gambia
 Ghana
 Guinea
 Guinea-Bissau
 Liberia
 Mali
 Mauritania
 Niger
 Nigeria
 Senegal
 Sierra Leone
 Togo		 6 February 2014 Signed by 15 out of 16 West African partner countries and the EU[70] Economic Partnership Agreement[71][72]
Eastern African Community members
 Burundi
 Kenya
 Rwanda
 Tanzania
 Uganda		 16 October 2014 Signed by 2 out of 5 East African partner countries and the EU[73] Ratified by  Rwanda and  Kenya Economic Partnership Agreement[74]
Mercosur
 Argentina
 Brazil
 Paraguay
 Uruguay		 28 June 2019[75] No European Union–Mercosur free trade agreement. Part of an Association Agreement.

Negotiating new agreements
StateNew agreement being negotiatedStatus
 AustraliaAustralia AgreementNegotiations launched in 2018[76]
 Andorra European Union Association Agreement Negotiations launched in 2015[77]
 ChinaEU-China investment agreementNegotiations launched in 2013 [76]
 IndonesiaFree Trade AgreementNegotiations launched in 2016[76]
 New ZealandNew Zealand AgreementNegotiations launched in 2018[76]
 Morocco Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Negotiations started in 2014[78]
 PhilippinesFree Trade AgreementNegotiations launched in 2015[76]
 Tunisia Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area Negotiations launched in 2015[79]
 TongaEconomic Partnership Agreements as part of the Pacific States Interim Partnership AgreementInformed the EU of its intention to accede to the EPA. [80]
 San Marino European Union Association Agreement Negotiations launched in 2015[77]

Negotiations on hold
Country or blocAgreement being negotiatedStatus
Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf States
 Bahrain
 Kuwait
 Oman
 Qatar
 Saudi Arabia
 United Arab Emirates		 Free Trade Agreement Negotiations started in 1990, suspended since 2008[81]
Central Africa
 Central African Republic
 Chad
 Republic of Congo
 Equatorial Guinea
 Gabon
 Democratic Republic of Congo
 São Tomé and Principe		 Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations started in 2003, paused until further notice in 2011[81]
Eastern and Southern Africa States

 Ethiopia
 Djibouti
 Malawi
 Somalia
 Sudan
 Zambia

 Economic Partnership Agreement Negotiations started in 2004, paused until further notice in 2011[81]
 India Free Trade Agreement Negotiations started in 2007, last round in 2013[81]
 Malaysia Free Trade Agreement Negotiations started in 2010, paused since 2012[81]
 Myanmar Investment protection agreement Negotiations launched in 2015[81]
 Thailand Free Trade Agreement Negotiations started in 2013, no negotiations scheduled since 2014 [81]
 United States Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership Negotiations started in 2013, paused until further notice in 2016[81]

Competence

The European Court of Justice has held that investor-state Arbitration provisions (including a dedicated tribunal planned by some free trade agreements) falls under competency shared between European Union and its member states and that for this reason, their ratification should be approved by the EU as well as by each of the 28 states.[82]

Impact

One study found that the trade agreements that the EU implemented over the period 1993-2013 "lowered quality-adjusted prices by close to 7%."[83]

See also

Notes
  1. From 2021 under the provisions of the Brexit withdrawal agreement (Protocol relating to the sovereign base areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Cyprus)
  2. Entry into force of Interim Agreement
  3. Interim Agreement
  4. Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation
  5. Decision of the EC-Turkey Association Council
  6. Includes Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man with regards to trade in goods and fisheries

References
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  2. "Agreements". European Commission. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  3. Act concerning the conditions of accession of the Czech Republic, the Republic of Estonia, the Republic of Cyprus, the Republic of Latvia, the Republic of Lithuania, the Republic of Hungary, the Republic of Malta, the Republic of Poland, the Republic of Slovenia and the Slovak Republic and the adjustments to the Treaties on which the European Union is founded - Protocol No 3 on the sovereign base areas of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland on Cyprus
  4. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Albania, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  5. "Euro-Mediterranean Association Agreement between the European Community and its Members States, of the one part, and the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  6. "Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Economic Community and the Principality of Andorra". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  7. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and Bosnia and Herzegovina, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  8. "Agreement establishing an Association between the European Community and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Chile, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  9. "Chile - Trade - European Commission". ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 June 2015.
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  31. "Council Decision 2001/822/EC of 27 November 2001 on the association of the overseas countries and territories with the European Community". EUR-Lex. 27 November 2001.
  32. "Euro-Mediterranean Interim Association Agreement on Trade and Cooperation between the European Community, of the one part, and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
  33. "Agreement on Cooperation and Customs Union between the European Economic Community and the Republic of San Marino". Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  34. "Stabilisation and Association Agreement between the European Communities and their Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Serbia, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
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  38. "Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the Community and South Africa, which provides for the provisional application of a portion of the Agreement on Trade, Development and Cooperation between the European Community and its Member States, on the one part, and the Republic of South Africa, on the other part". Retrieved 28 October 2015.
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  40. "Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and its Member States, of the one part, and the Republic of Korea, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
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  44. Decision No 1/95 of the EC-Turkey Association Council of 22 December 1995 on implementing the final phase of the Customs Union
  45. "Association Agreement between the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community and their Member States, of the one part, and Ukraine, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 29 October 2015.
  46. http://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/documents-publications/treaties-agreements/agreement/?id=2014045
  47. "Free Trade Agreement between the European Union and the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 2 July 2019.
  48. http://ec.europa.eu/trade/policy/countries-and-regions/countries/vietnam/
  49. "Economic Partnership Agreement between the CARIFORUM States, of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  50. Did not sign
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  54. EU signs FTA
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  56. EU FTA agreements with Colombia and Central America became effective August first
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  60. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
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  63. "Agreement details". Council of the European Union. Retrieved 26 October 2017.
  64. "EU Trade Policy with the Andean Community".
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  66. "Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada, of the one part, and the European Union and its Member States, of the other part". Agreements Database, Council of the European Union.
  67. "In Focus: EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement".
  68. "EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement: Council adopts decision on the signing". Consilium. 29 December 2020.
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  70. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_MEX-18-5867_en.htm
  71. http://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/docs/2009/september/tradoc_144912.pdf
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  76. "Agreements being negotiated". European Commission. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
  77. "RECORDED HRVP Federica MOGHERINI host the ceremony on the occasion of the launching of the Association Agreement(s) negotiations with the Principality of Andorra, the Principality of Monaco and the Republic of San Marino". European Commission. 18 March 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  78. "Countries and regions: Morocco". European Commission. Retrieved 31 January 2021.
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