EU trade ministers to discuss trade agreements and EU-US trade relations

Finland’s Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Ville Tavio will attend a meeting of the EU Foreign Affairs Council in its trade configuration in Brussels on 21 November 2024. Items on the agenda for the Council include trade relations between the EU and the United States and the future of the EU's trade policy, especially trade negotiations. The ministers will also discuss the reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

EU trade ministers will discuss the future of the Union's trade policy. Ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations will be one focus of the discussion. The EU is currently conducting a number of negotiations. The negotiations with Mexico, Mercosur, Australia and Indonesia have made good progress.

Finland is in favour of swiftly concluding the ongoing EU trade agreement negotiations and implementing the agreements.

“In the current situation, it is very important for Finland that the EU can conclude new trade agreements. The agreements will open up new markets for Finnish businesses and strengthen partnerships. The agreements support the diversification of supply chains, thus improving our resilience,” Minister Ville Tavio says.

The Foreign Affairs Council will discuss EU-US trade relations in light of the outcome of the recent US presidential elections.

“The United States is an important ally for Finland and a key partner for the EU. We should view the relationship between the EU and the United States as a bigger picture. We want to look for mutually interesting areas of cooperation to facilitate trade. At the same time, however, the EU is preparing for changes in the United States’ trade policy,” Tavio says.

The ministers will discuss over working lunch how the WTO’s reforms are progressing.

The most important ongoing negotiations for Finland concern the restoration of the full functioning capacity of the WTO’s dispute settlement system and the plurilateral agreement on electronic commerce. Opening a discussion on state aid in the WTO is also a matter of importance for Finland.

The meeting will also discuss the selection of WTO Director-General. The incumbent Director-General, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, is the only candidate nominated for the position within the time limit.