The EU negotiates trade agreements on behalf of the member states – including Ireland. These agreements deal with preferential duty rates on the shipment of goods between the EU and countries around the world.
They have also evolved to cover a wider range of areas to facilitate trade. Among these include government procurement opportunities, business visitor visas, mutual recognition of professional qualifications, the certification of products, intellectual property rights and the cross border trade in services.
These far reaching agreements can take a number of years of detailed negotiations.
The EU has preferential trade agreements with about 70 countries worldwide.[1] These countries represent nearly 32% of the EU’s external trade.[2]
€3 billion worth of Irish exports are eligible for preferential tariffs as a result of these agreements.[3]
There are a number of negotiations ongoing with countries in the hope that a future free trade agreement can be reached. Some of the more significant include Australia, New Zealand and Mercosur (Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay)
Further information on EU Free Trade Agreements
EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement
In 2019 the European Union and Vietnam agreed a Free Trade Agreement. The trade agreement covers a range of goods and services. The agreements sees significant tariffs reductions on food and beverage items as well as tackling a number of non tariff barriers. The agreement also includes commitments in the areas of international labour rights and protections, global environmental agreements and human rights.
Vietnam is an exciting Asian economy. Its GDP has been one of the fastest growing in the world over the past several years. This is powered by a large, youthful population. Reflecting the increased business potential, Enterprise Ireland has recently opened an office in Vietnam for the first time.
EU-Vietnam’s Free Trade Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
Further information on the EU-Vietnam Economic Partnership Agreement
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA)
The European Union and Japan have signed the Economic Partnership Agreement, a comprehensive trade agreement including goods, services and investment, eliminating tariffs, non-tariff barriers and other trade-related issues, such as public procurement, regulatory issues, competition, and sustainable development.
Japan is one of the key trading partners of the European Union, it is its seventh largest trading partner globally and the second biggest one in Asia. Conversely, the European Union is Japan’s third largest trading partner. Together economies of Japan and the EU account for more than one third of world GDP.
The EPA applies as of 1 February 2019.
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement infographic
Further information on the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
EU-Canada – Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)
CETA was signed on 21 October 2017. The benefits related to tariffs are in force. CETA was the first of the new generation of trade agreements signed by the EU.
EU-Canada – Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA)
EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
EU-Canada – Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement infographic
EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement
In October 2018, the EU and Singapore signed a Free Trade Agreement and Investment Protection Agreement (IPA). The EU-Singapore FTA is the first FTA between the EU and a member of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN). This Agreement entered into force on 21 November 2019.
EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement—what it means for Irish exporters
Further information on the EU-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement
Modernisation of the EU-Mexico Global Agreement
This has been agreed in principle with some outstanding technical issues being finalised during 2019.
Given this reputation, it is easy to believe that the FTAs make doing business in Mexico duty-free. However, though this robust export platform affords companies many advantages, it requires vigilance as agreements are often modified. To get answers to all of your questions about Mexico's free trade agreements and how they can benefit your company,As of 1 December 2022, 355 RTAs were in force. These correspond to 582 notifications from WTO members, counting goods, services and accessions separately.
back to topCommittee on Regional Trade Agreements
The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) considers individual regional agreements under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs (see below). It is also mandated to hold discussions on the systemic implications of RTAs for the multilateral trading system, as was reaffirmed by WTO members at the 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015. The CRTA's terms of reference can be found in WT/L/127. The current Chair is .
back to topTransparency Mechanism for RTAs
WTO members agreed in 2006 to implement a provisional mechanism to enhance the transparency of RTAs and understand their effects on the multilateral system. Under this process, members notify the WTO about their RTAs and these are discussed by the wider WTO membership on the basis of a factual presentation prepared by the WTO Secretariat.
At the 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015, WTO members agreed to work towards the transformation of the provisional mechanism into a permanent mechanism without prejudice to questions related to notification requirements.
Search Documents Online
General documents on regional trade agreements bear the document code WT/REG/*. Under the Doha agenda's trade negotiations mandate, they use TN/RL/* (where * takes additional values).
These links open a new window: allow a moment for the results to appear.
> help with downloading these documents
- Documents on Regional Trade Agreements by Country (Document code WT/REG/*) > search
- Notifications of Regional Trade Agreements (Document code WT/REG*/N/*) > search
- Factual Presentations on Regional Trade Agreements(Document code WT/REG* and keyword �Factual presentation�)
> search - Questions and Replies on Regional Trade Agreements(Document code RD/RTA* or WT/REG* and keyword �Questions and replies�)
> search
> See also Transparency Mechanism communications (early announcements of RTAs, notifications of changes, etc.)
You can perform more sophisticated searches from the Documents Online search facility (opens in new window) by defining multiple search criteria such as document symbol (i.e. code number), full text search or document date.
back to topNotifications of RTAs
WTO members are obliged to notify the RTAs in which they participate. All of the WTO's members have notified participation in one or more RTAs (some members are party to 20 or more). Notifications may also refer to the accession of new parties to an agreement that already exists, e.g. the notification of the accession of Croatia to the European Union.
For more detail on notifications of RTAs currently in force, consult the summary tables of the RTA Database //rtais.wto.org/UI/publicsummarytable.aspx
back to topEvolution of RTAs, 1948-2022
The following chart shows all RTAs notified to the GATT/WTO (1948-2022), including inactive RTAs, by year of entry into force.
A series of interactive graphs, along with the underlying data, is available from the WTO RTA Database: //rtais.wto.org/UI/Charts.aspx
New developments in RTAs
Many WTO members continue to be involved in negotiations to create new RTAs. Like the agreements in force, most new negotiations are bilateral. However, a recent development has been negotiations and new agreements among several WTO members. This includes developments in:
- the Asia-Pacific Region, with the entry into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement (signed by 11 parties);
- Asia, with the signature of the Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (RCEP) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members and six other WTO members;
- Latin America, with the establishment of the Pacific Alliance between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; and
- Africa, with the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and negotiations for the Tripartite Agreement, linking parties to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).
However, the vast majority of such new plurilateral agreements have not reduced the spaghetti bowl of RTAs given that they have not superseded existing bilateral agreements.
Negotiations on RTAs
Negotiations to clarify and improve WTO disciplines on RTAs fall under the work of the Negotiating Group on Rules, which reports to the Trade Negotiations Committee. The negotiations have been dormant for some time.