Debate: Indo-Pacific strategy in the area of trade and investment
Date: MONDAY, 4 JULY 2022
Speaker: Jan Zahradil
Country: Germany
Language: EN

We already have recognised that the Indo-Pacific region has become a geopolitical and geo-economic reality, and together Europe and the Indo-Pacific represent over 70% of global trade in goods and services and over 60% of foreign direct investments. We have four bilateral trade agreements in place. We have five strategic partnerships and two connectivity partnerships. We have also several countries in the Indo-Pacific with tariff preferences under the GSP and GSP+ schemes. We have also witnessed a growing geopolitical competition between US-China, changing a geopolitical shift and global order. And we have also seen new legal frameworks in the region like comprehensive and progressive agreement for trans-Pacific partnership (CPTPP) while by the way, US withdrew while China, Taiwan and the UK formally submitted a request to accede and also regional comprehensive economic partnership (RCEP) which entered into force in January 2022 and created the world’s largest trading bloc. So the time is up to define and summarise our relations to that region, particularly in the situation where geopolitical reality has dramatically changed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. We are therefore calling on the Commission to strengthen partnership with all relevant actors in the Indo-Pacific, taking into consideration subregional dynamics and specificities. We should use better and more strategically our economic leverage while respecting the political and economic specificities of our partners and their interests. We also coordinate our Indo-Pacific strategy with recently adopted EU global gateway strategy, and we should better use already existing treaties like that one between EU and South Korea, Singapore, Japan and Vietnam. And we also should raise awareness among businesses, stakeholders, civil society, social partners and citizens of these existing FTAs in the region and the opportunities they provide. We are calling for substantive progress in negotiations on the EU-Australia after New Zealand has been already concluded. India, I will leave to my dear colleague Mr Bourgeois. And when it comes to China, we know that China is a cooperation partner, but also a competitor and also a systemic rival, and it’s necessary to continue engaging with China to promote solutions to common challenges. When it comes to Taiwan, we should cooperate in green technology and digital economy while respecting One China policy. We are on a good track with Indonesia, not on a very good track with the Philippines, Malaysia and Thailand and almost everything is frozen with Myanmar and Cambodia. So we have to continue and to make some progress. And last but not least, we also further engage with ASEAN. We should use the momentum of the planned EU-ASEAN Summit in 2022, and we also should have a new strategic approach towards CPTPP and also thoroughly monitor the direct economic effects of the RCEP. I very much believe that this report will set a positive and encouraging atmosphere for the Commission, for the Council and for strategy of individual Member States.