BCCI is for a balanced and progressive trade policy

In the negotiations of the EU for a Free Trade Agreement with Australia and New Zealand

In a letter to the Deputy Minister of Economy Alexander Manolev, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented its position on the EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations with Australia and New Zealand.

The Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, as part of the Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry (EUROCHAMBRES), shares the European Commission's strategy for a balanced and progressive trade policy in order to capitalize on the benefits of globalization. According to BCCI:

• EU Trade Policy must prioritize its trading partners according to clear economic criteria while remaining firmly committed to the multilateral trading system
• The trade policy must be in tune with the business realities in the 21 century and be equipped to seize opportunities from new technologies such as digitalization and green technologies
• SME constitute one the biggest untapped sources of growth in the EU. The “Think Small First” principle must therefore guide the trade policy. Impact assessments for SMEs and monitoring structures counting on the active involvement of the SME community should be consistently applied in FTAs
• EU Trade Policy needs to be coherent with the targets of the Union, such as Europe 2020
• The prime focus of FTAs must be to regulate the conditions and framework for trade, enhancing EU competitiveness and shaping the global economic system
• Reciprocity must be at the heart of FTAs
• Promoting sustainable development through the mutual work of the public and private sectors when developing trade policy is another key factor in FTA negotiations
• It is important for European entrepreneurs that there are no barriers to trade and investment with third countries by transparently negotiating the terms of the agreements.

Trade between Bulgaria and the two distant countries - Australia and New Zealand - is modest, unsustainable, but with an upward trend. The major sectors and commodities covered by Bulgaria's bilateral trade with Australia are related to the food and beverage industry, machinery and equipment, electronics and electrical engineering. With New Zealand, trade includes metalworking products, foods, agricultural goods, machinery and equipment, wool, etc.