Spirits industry welcomes EU trade pledge

The body representing the spirits industry in the EU has welcomed a new trade strategy adopted by the European Commission today, which includes a “reenergised” approach to trade negotiations.

The strategy includes a focus on trade deals in Asia and the Pacific, extending the “transparency initiative” brought in to try to allay fears over the controversial TTIP deal, and “modernising” existing trade agreements.

Paul Skehan, director general of spiritsEUROPE, said the new deal could be of particular benefit to the spirits industry. “As a very export-oriented sector, we appreciate the level of ambition set by the Commission, in particular in engaging in bilateral negotiations with emerging high-growth markets,” he said.

“In particular, many Asian and South East Asian markets offer huge potential growth for European spirits, but tariffs and non tariff barriers prevent us from competing effectively with local producers.”

However, questions have also been raised about the level of investment the EU is willing to put in to properly implementing this new strategy.

Mr Skehan continued, “How many people does the Commission have to negotiate new agreements? How many to enforce them? How many people in EU Delegations around the world help our SMEs to make the most of those opened markets?

“We call on the Commission to reallocate and train more trade-related staff today to undertake future negotiations, to enforce the existing trading rules and to man EU Delegations abroad.”