19 Amendments of Klaus BUCHNER related to 2017/2070(INI)
Amendment 40 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Points out that the international context has changed profoundly since the Trade for All strategy was published and that new trade challenges now need to be addressed; is concerned to see protectionist practices incompatible with WTO rules being pursued and reiterates its support for an open, balancedfair and rules- based trade system;
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Highlights the growing importance of services, especially digital services, and of e-commerce in international trade, and underscores the need to strengthen the internationmultilateral rules governing these sectors so as to secure real benefits for European consumers, improve European companies’ access to international markets and safeguard the observance of fundamental rights throughout the worldcitizens throughout the world while safeguarding fundamental rights with regard to data protection and privacy;
Amendment 68 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Deplores the failure to reach agreement at the WTO ministerial meeting in Buenos Aires; reiterates its support for the multilateral systemstresses the primary political importance of the multilateral system which cannot be substituted by bilateral trade initiatives, and calls on the Union actively to advance proposals for updated, multilateral rules; welcomes the entry into force of the Trade Facilitation Agreement; considers it regrettable that certain multilateral agreements are not being observed and calls on the Commission to work harder, within the WTO, on the effective implementation of multilateral rules and agreements;
Amendment 70 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7
Paragraph 7
7. Is concerned atNotes the stand-off in plurilateral negotiations on the Trade in Services Agreement (TiSA) and the Environmental Goods Agreement; asks the Union to take the initiative to get the negotiations moving again once the political conditions allow for a revision of the unsolved systemic problems with regard to TiSA;
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Emphasises that the agreements concluded and the Union’s ongoing and forthcoming bilateral negotiations represent opportunities for market access and the lifting of trade barriers; warns, however, that the cumulative effects of rules-of-origin in bilateral FTAs inevitably lead to a decrease of the real usage of market opportunities by economic operators and that bilateral FTAs therefore cannot substitute for multilateral initiatives; issues a reminder that priority must be given to the substance of the negotiations rather than their pace, that the aims of reciprocity and mutual benefit must be guiding threads, that EU rules and standards cannot be watered down, and that public services including services of general interest and services of general economic interest, as well as audiovisual services, must be excluded;
Amendment 92 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Points out that the Commission has announced on more than one occasion the launch of negotiations about investment with Hong Kong and Taiwan, and deems it regrettable that no such negotiations have yet begun;
Amendment 96 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Welcomes the publication by the Commission of its recommendation for a Council decision authorising the opening of negotiations for a Convention establishing a multilateral court for the settlement of investment disputes (MIC); highlights the importance to the European economy of internal and external investment and the need to ensure that EU investors abroad are protected; asks the Commission to pursue its work on the new system for ruling on investment disputes, which must be based, inter alia, on a balance of investor rights and duties, the exhaustion of domestic judicial redress, the possibility of counter- claims, a guarantee of states’ right to regulate, and on transparency;
Amendment 102 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13
Paragraph 13
13. Urges that an updated and easily applicable rules-of-origin system be developed; considers it regrettable that no progress has been made on negotiating the Regional Convention on pan-Euro- Mediterranean rules of origin; reiterates its call to the Commission to draw up a report on the state of play with regard to rules of origin and of the nexus between ever more complex origin rules and the uptake of preferential trade agreements by economic operators;
Amendment 106 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14
Paragraph 14
14. Points out that, in the implementation of Union trade policy, special attention needs to be paid to agricultural products and to the interests of European producers and consumers; emphasises that trade agreements, and notably the agreement with Japan, can open up new business horizons for the agrifood sector; highlights the importance of striking the right balance between protecting sensitive agricultural products and advancing the Union’s offensive interests in relation to agrifood exports, with provision for, inter alia, transition periods and suitable quotas, and in certain cases for the exclusion of the most sensitive products; points out that it is essential to safeguard a robust system of health and plant-health rules based on the EU's precautionary principle while combating any form of discriminatory treatment in this area;
Amendment 112 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 15
Paragraph 15
15. Welcomes the multiple references to the principle of reciprocity in the report on implementation of the Union trade strategy; reiterates that reciprocity must be a pillar of Union trade policy, while emphasizing the significance of preferential treatment provisions for least- developed nations; emphasises the importance for the Union of having an international instrument on public procurement, and deplores the fact that the relevant proposal has been held up in the Council; takes the view that the Commission proposal on the monitoring of foreign investment could make for greater reciprocity in the area of access to markets while safeguarding control over strategic assets for national security reasons;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26 a (new)
Paragraph 26 a (new)
26a. Asks the Commission to report on provisions of MFN treatment in existing EU bilateral FTAs and on their practical effect in guaranteeing additional EU market access in third countries through FTAs negotiated by the EUs FTA partners; warns that a proliferation of MFN treatment in EU FTAs curtails opportunities for a EU policy of preferred trade partners;
Amendment 146 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Is concerned by the fact that European companies are making relatively poor use of trade preferences by comparison with companies in partner countries; considers the complexity of rules-of-origin a major factor for the low take up of trade preferences by economic operators; asks the Commission to determine the causes of the imbalance as quickly as possible and to address them; calls on the Commission and Member States to move swiftly on developing measures to give economic operators more information about the trade preferences provided for in the FTAs;
Amendment 150 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 30
Paragraph 30
30. Welcomes the announced introduction of implementation roadmaps for all trade agreements, and asks the Commission to involve all the interested parties in preparing them; calls on the Commission to set out intended objectives as well as specific criteria on which to base a clear evaluation, such as the state of progress on the removal of non-tariff barriers, the rate of use of trade preferences and of quotas, or the situation with regard to regulatory cooperation and the compliance with provisions of the sustainable development chapter; asks that the state of progress with the roadmaps be published to coincide with publication of the annual report on implementation of FTAs;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 34
Paragraph 34
34. Asks the Commission to continue including SME-specific chapters and provisions in the trade agreements it negotiates and in its legislative proposals; emphasises that understanding the sicomplificationexity of rules of origin is a matter of great importance to SMEs and that SME- specific provisions need to be negotiated to address the matter of small companies’ access to public procurement markets abroad;
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 38
Paragraph 38
38. Points outStresses that the Common Commercial Policy must contributes to the promotion of the values for which the Union stands, set out in Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union, and to the pursuit of the aims enumerated in Article 21, including the consolidation of democracy and the rule of law, respect for human rights, as well as fundamental rights and freedoms, equality, respect for human dignity and the protection of the environment and of social rights; underlines that the UN Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement on Climate provide primary benchmarks on which to measure the contribution of the EUs trade policy to agreed global goals of sustainable development; asks the Commission to develop a methodology for reporting on the fulfilment of advancing on these goals;
Amendment 177 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 42
Paragraph 42
42. Reaffirms its support for the inclusion in all future trade agreements of ambitious and enforceable provisions on combating corruption; welcomes the inclusion of anti- corruption provisions in the ongoing negotiations on updating the EU-Mexico FTA;
Amendment 178 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 43
Paragraph 43
43. Welcomes the fact that gender equalityaspects hasve been taken into account in the Commission’s report on the implementation of its trade strategy; underscores the aim of ensuring that women benefit from trade to the same extent as men, and that trade agreements do not lead indirectly to increased underpaid or unpaid female labour; asks the Commission to include this aspect in its future annual implementation reports;
Amendment 183 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 46
Paragraph 46
46. Emphasises that the Common Commercial Policy must be implemented in such a way as to ensure that the global value chain is managed responsibly; asks the Commission to continue including and promotingpromote schemes of mandatory and enforceable standards of corporate social responsibility as part of its trade policy; reasserts its support for international initiatives such as the Bangladesh Sustainability Compact, and asks the Commission to concentrate as of now on the implementation of that initiative;
Amendment 196 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 52
Paragraph 52
52. Asks the Commission to improve the quality of the impact studies carried out for each trade agreement and to include in them sectoral, gender and geographical analysis; stresses that better communication about the information contained in ex ante and ex post impact studies on trade agreements is essential;