34 Amendments of Danuta Maria HÜBNER related to 2019/2197(INI)
Amendment 31 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)
Recital B a (new)
B a. whereas the Common Commercial Policy, composed of trade agreements and legislative measures, should serve the objective of creating a stable, predictable and fair trading environment in which EU businesses can thrive and the interests of EU citizens are asserted;
Amendment 35 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B b (new)
Recital B b (new)
B b. whereas the Commission published on 14 October 2019 its third report on the implementation of EU free trade agreements (FTAs) that shows that in 2018, 33 percent of EU exports and 29 percent of EU imports were traded with FTA partners;
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B c (new)
Recital B c (new)
B c. whereas between the years 2007 and 2017 global GDP increased with more than 70 percent; comparing the EU increase of 17 percent to other countries like the United States (60 percent), India (80 percent) and China (315 percent), the EU is falling behind in global competitiveness;
Amendment 42 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B d (new)
Recital B d (new)
B d. whereas world trade is expected to fall by between 13 and 32 percent in 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19; extra- EU27 exports of goods and services by 9.2 percent, and extra-EU27 imports by 8.8 percent; and the IMF expects EU GDP to decrease by 7,5 percent;
Amendment 44 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B e (new)
Recital B e (new)
B e. whereas in 2018, the EU had a trade surplus of €84.6 billion with FTA partners compared to its overall trade deficit of €24.6 billion;
Amendment 45 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital B f (new)
Recital B f (new)
B f. whereas 36 million EU jobs depend on exports outside the EU, out of which 13.7 million are occupied by women;
Amendment 46 #
B g. whereas according to a recent report by the European Commission exports to the EU from developing countries using special trade preferences (GSP) grew by 16.2 percent between 2016 and 2018 with an increase in its value from 158 billion euro in 2016 to 183.6 billion euro in 2018;
Amendment 71 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 a (new)
Paragraph 4 a (new)
4 a. Welcomes the increase of transparency in trade policy; welcomes the decision of the Council to publish the mandate on the negotiations of Economic Partnership Agreements with the ACP regions on 13 December 2019; expresses satisfaction with the recent efforts of the new Commission to inform the EP more regularly about the state of play of ongoing negotiations, thus making the work of the Commission more transparent, such as making available detailed reports on specialised committees under CETA and South-Korea;
Amendment 75 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Paragraph 4 b (new)
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for a substantive reform of the WTO, based on modernising its rule-book in order to make it more effective by providing structural and long-term solutions; encourages WTO members to reach an ambitious and balanced agreement on the long-standing issue of fishery subsidies during the ministerial summit in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstanconference in 2021 and send out a clear signal that the WTO is still able to deliver on its negotiating function;
Amendment 95 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)
Paragraph 8 a (new)
8 a. Regrets the lack of agreement in solving the blockage of the Appellate Body of the WTO, which materialised on 11 December 2019, and welcomes the initiative taken by the EU and 16 WTO Members to develop a temporary multi- party interim appeal arrangement that will allow the participating members to preserve a functioning and two-step dispute settlementsystem at the WTO in disputes among them; notes that the interim arrangement is a good step to overcome the current crisis; while encouraging a long-term solution including as many member states as possible; notes the Commission proposal for revisions to the Enforcement Regulation, commits itself to speedily find a position on the proposal;
Amendment 98 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes note of the dramatic change insignificant change of direction of the US trade strategpolicy over the past three years, which is focused on bilateral trade and often legally questionableand is concerned by the increase of unilateral trade measures; takes note of the limited progress made towards implementing the joint US-EU Statement of 25 July 2018; stresses the importance of relaunching the EU-US talks on the basis of the existing negotiating mandates adopted in April 2019 by the Councilstresses the importance of relaunching the EU-US talks to resolve issues of common concern, including disputes;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Takes note of the dramatic change insignificant change of direction of the US trade strategpolicy over the past three years, which is focused on bilateral trade and often legally questionable unilateral trade measures; takes note of the limited progress made towards implementing the joint US-EU Statement of 25 July 2018; stresses the importance of relaunching the EU-US talks on the basis of the existing negotiating mandates adopted in April 2019 by the Counciland is concerned by the increase of unilateral trade measures, including recent decisions by the US Department of Commerce to launch further section 232 investigations; stresses the importance of relaunching the EU-US talks to resolve issues of common concern, including disputes;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Invites the Commission to find negotiated solutions with the USA, which include the issue of civil aircraft subsidies, and recalls the agreement found on the allocation of higher share in the tariff rate quota for high-quality beef with the purpose of reducing tensions in transatlantic relations while safeguarding EU interests in the agricultural sectorengage US counterparts to find ways to de- escalate transatlantic trade tensions, including to find negotiated solutions with the US on the issue of civil aircraft subsidies;
Amendment 122 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)
Paragraph 11 a (new)
11 a. Regrets the formal notification by the US on 4 November 2019 of its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and recalls that the EU’s Common Commercial Policy should contribute to promote the realisation of the Paris Agreement;
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 b (new)
Paragraph 11 b (new)
11 b. Regrets that the current administration is considering withdrawing from the General Procurement Agreement; urges the administration to remain a party to that agreement;
Amendment 139 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Notes that, in the last report on the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights, more than 80 percent of the seizure of counterfeit and pirated goods originate from China, both in 2018 and 2019; calls on the Commission to explore further tools to address these issues and guarantee a full protection of IPRs;
Amendment 144 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)
Paragraph 14 b (new)
14 b. Takes note of the recent bilateral agreement between the United States and China that could ease the current worldwide trade tensions; however is concerned about the possible impact of the agreement on the discriminations of the EU companies vis à vis US companies; in this context calls on the European Commission to conduct an immediate analysis of the text and take all the appropriate measures to defend the interests of our companies;
Amendment 149 #
Motion for a resolution
Subheading 5
Subheading 5
Implementation of FTAtrade agreements
Amendment 164 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Recalls that after the provisional entry into force of the agreement the two parties have created a solid partnership by accompanying the original text with important recommendation on trade, climate action and the Paris Agreement, trade and gender and small and medium- sized enterprises, that is the proof of the dynamic of a trade agreement in its implementation;
Amendment 167 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 17
Paragraph 17
17. Reiterates its concern over the poor use oflow preference utilisation in the EU’s FTArate on EU exports reported by some of its preferential partners; notes, in particular, a large divergence in utilisation by the EUof preferences on the Union’s exporters ins to different agreementtrade partners and little divergence in utilisation between theof preferences on EU’s imports from different trade partners; calls on the Commission to further analyse preference utilisation; highlights the importance of flexible, streamlined, and easy rules of origin in this regard;
Amendment 184 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19 a (new)
Paragraph 19 a (new)
19 a. Welcomes the entry into force of the ESA and SADC EPAs and interim EPAs with Ghana and the Ivory Coast and regrets the lack of progress in ratification of remaining regional EPAs; expresses its support for the vision set out in the 2018 State of the Union address of a continent-to-continent trade agreement that should be an economic partnership between equals that would serve to support the SDGs;
Amendment 194 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20 a (new)
Paragraph 20 a (new)
20 a. Stresses that those three agreements consolidates the strategic dynamic of the European Union in a key area of the world characterized by a rapid growth of population and incomes with significant opportunities for our operators; furthermore by its stronger presence the European Union could create an alternative to the Chinese domination in the area;
Amendment 228 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Recalls its position expressed in its previous report on the implementation of the CCP; underlines that the 15-point action plan of 27 February 20188 set out by the Commission services represents a good basis for reflection in order to improve the mechanisms in trade and sustainable development (TSD) chapters; implementation; _________________ 8 https://trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/press/inde x.cfm?id=1803
Amendment 233 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Welcomes the Commission’s initiative for a European Green Deal and underlines that it should be comprised of a strategy that is ecologically, economically and socially balanced;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Believes that the current systemapproach already demonstrates some efficiencyallows to address issues of non- compliance with obligations, as seen in the framework of the EU-Korea FTA in which the EU has requested the establishment of a panel following South Korea’s failure to ratify International Labour Organisation (ILO) conventions on workers’ rights, notably on freedom of association and collective bargaining;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Recalls that the early efforts of the Commission and Parliament in the trade negotiations with Mexico and Vietnam paid off with the ratification by both countries respectively in November 2018 and Julyne 2019 of the ILO Convention 98 on the right to organise and collective bargaining;
Amendment 246 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Believes that TSD chapters in trade agreements should drivebe one of the drivers of the external dimension of the European Green Deal, aunderlines that any new carbon adjustment mechanism should be compatible with WTO rules as well as EU FTAs; stresses that EU companies that are users of intermediate goods should not be put at a competitive disadvantage;
Amendment 255 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 31 a (new)
Paragraph 31 a (new)
31 a. Calls for a re-launch of negotiations for an Environmental Goods Agreement and calls for the Commission to propose unilateral modifications of applied tariffs for green goods if these can be identified to contribute to reaching the targets of the European Green Deal;
Amendment 270 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32
Paragraph 32
32. Recalls that the efforts to keep rules-based trade must play a crucial role in our trade strategy and in this context recalls the adoption on the modernisation package of trade defence instruments in 2018, and the new foreign direct investment screening mechanism; stresses that the new foreign investment screening mechanism should never be a tool for protectionism;
Amendment 274 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 32 a (new)
Paragraph 32 a (new)
32 a. Welcomes the announcement by the Commission of the appointment early in 2020 of a Chief Trade Enforcement Officer (CTEO) to monitor and improve the compliance of the EU’s trade agreements, and underlines the need for this newly created post to focus on implementation and enforcement of our trade agreements, for breaches of both market access and trade and sustainable development commitments; calls on the Commission to further clarify this role;
Amendment 286 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 35 a (new)
Paragraph 35 a (new)
35 a. Welcomes the fact that these negotiations bring together a very large number of WTO members and calls for keeping them as open and inclusive as possible;
Amendment 296 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 37
Paragraph 37
37. Asks the Commission, in collaboration with Member States and business, to facilitate the use and understanding of rules of origin for SMEs; reminds the Commission of its objective to launch in early 2020 a dedicated rules of origin self-assessment tool for SMEs on the Access2Market platform, whereto help companies can calculateassess whether a product can benefit from preferences under a given EU trade agreement, as expressed in the letter of 13 November 2019 from Members of Parliament’s Committee on International Train order to the former Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström, in order to improvfacilitate SMEs’ utilisation rate of EU FTAs, which is lower than the averageof preferences under EU trade agreements, and so that SMEs ultimately enjoy the full benefits of trade agreements;
Amendment 299 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38 a (new)
Paragraph 38 a (new)
38 a. Impact of the COVID-19 virus on trade Regrets the serious impact of the COVID- 19 virus and following lockdown of economies on global trade, both imports and exports to the EU being reduced and value chains interrupted and halted as a result;believes that the EU and its Member states needs to act swiftly to use trade policy as a tool to recover global economies and mitigate recession;is of the firm belief that the EU must ensure open, rules-based trade in time of crisis and avoid measures that restrict and/or distorts trade and similarly challenge such measures from third countries;all of which should be included in the foreseen review of EU trade policy in 2020; Strongly believes in the facilitating role of cooperation at international, multilateral, plurilateral and bilateral level alike;stresses therefore the importance of reforming and strengthening the World Trade Organisation, progressing on the current negotiations and in particular revamping negotiations for a swift conclusion of a plurilateral agreement on free circulation of medical equipment (Zero-for-zero), fulfilling the potential of a different and higher level of transatlantic trade relationship with the US and considering trade agreements as a way to help companies diversify their sources; Stresses that the EU must ensure open trade flows and sustained global value chains, and therefore refrain from export restrictions such as on Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), of which the EU is depending on trade partners in third countries; urges those member states which restricts the flow of critical goods on the internal market to immediately lift their export restrictions and the Commission to apply a zero tolerance for such breaches against the rules of the Single Market; takes the view that the EU must carefully assess and identify critical sectors and societal vulnerabilities where the Union needs to secure its supply of products, and to seek effective and proportionate remedies in trade policy;