Activities of Jan ZAHRADIL related to 2020/2117(INI)
Shadow reports (1)
REPORT on the trade-related aspects and implications of COVID-19
Amendments (17)
Amendment 21 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital R (new)
Recital R (new)
R. whereas Trade policy must play its full roll in the recovery from theCOVID19 pandemic and towards more dynamic, innovative and competitive Europe in the world;
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital S (new)
Recital S (new)
S. whereas international trade in goods and services is to increase by 8.4%in 2022 according to estimations by International Monetary Fund1a ; __________________ 1a World Economic Outlook, April 2021: Managing Divergent Recoveries(imf.org)
Amendment 27 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. WelcomNotes the mainstreaming of the European Green Deal into the communication on the Trade Policy Review (TPR) and calls for a concrete action plan to make this ambition a reality;
Amendment 41 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Welcomes the incorporation of the Paris Agreement as an essential element in all trade, investment and partnership agreements; stresses that ratification of the International Labour Organization (ILO) core conventions and respect for human rights are requirements for concluding FTAs; asks for ambitious chapters on gender, women empowerment and on small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to be included in all trade agreements;
Amendment 51 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Underlines that the post-COVID-19 recovery is a unique opportunity to set the agenda for sustainable growth; calls on the Commission, therefore, to present its review of the 15-point action plan on TSD chapters without delay; expects the review to address the enforceability of TSD commitments as a matter of urgency, as it is not currently included; recalls, in this regard, the non-paper from the Netherlands and France on trade, social economic effects and sustainable development11 ; suggests that, as a minimum, recent advances in enforceability should be applied to EU trade policy, namely the ability to tackle any non-compliance by partners through unilateral sanctions, including thesuch as an introduction of tariffs or quotas on certain products or the cross- suspension of other parts of an agreement; __________________ 11Non-paper from the Netherlands and France on trade, social economic effects and sustainable development, accessed at ‘the Netherlands at International Organisations (permanentrepresentations.nl)’.
Amendment 78 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Calls for the EU to take a leading role at a multilateral level to end harmful subsidies by advocating transparency and strict regulation and disciplines in trade agreements and at the World Trade Organization (WTO); stresses the importance of drawing up sustainability impact assessments on an ex-ante, intermediate and ex-post basis; stresses the need to develop a comprehensive framework with concrete targets to advance the SDGs, the Green Deal and the ILO Decent Work Agenda in trade and investment agreements; emphasises that new agreements should only be concluded once these targets have been fulfilledwhen tangible commitments are made by our trading partners and that existing agreements should be revised accordingly;
Amendment 100 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Stresses the importance of fair value chains that respect human rights, labour rights and environmental standards; recalls that mandatory due diligence throughout the entire supply chain is a necessary instrument to achieve this; stresses that more attention should be paid to the vulnerable position of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), especially in developing countries, whereas large companies are more likely to overcome a sudden drop in demand;
Amendment 117 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Stresses the importance of ensuring fair competition and a level playing field for European businesses in both the internal market and third-country markets; stresses, in this regard, the importance of trade defence instruments and calls on the Commission to swiftly complete the EU’s trade defence toolbox through legislative proposals, supported by impact assessments in 2021, giving priority to an instrument to tackle distortions caused by foreign subsidies and state-owned enterprises and to the conclusion of negotiations on the International Procurement Instrument12 ; __________________ 12Amended proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 January 2016 on the access of third- country goods and services to the Union’s internal market in public procurement and procedures supporting negotiations on access of Union goods and services to the public procurement markets of third countries (COM(2016)0034).
Amendment 124 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Is convinced that openness should go hand in hand with safeguarding our strategic sectors and should be closely connected with an ambitious, forward- looking industrial policy in line with the Green Deal and digital strategy, boosting economic recovery, increasing competitiveness of our businesses, creating quality jobs and ensuring that Europe plays a crucial role in the production of innovative goods and future services;
Amendment 137 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is convinced that the EU is too dependent on a limited number of suppliers for critical goods and services; insists that the EU should overcome these undesirablexcessive dependencies via a mix of policies to incentivise companies to stockpile, diversify sourcing strategies and promote nearshoring, which could create new trading opportunities for partners in the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods and shall be accompanied by regulatory approximation in strategic sectors; underlines that our priority should be further diversification of sources and constant private sector adaptation to shocks;
Amendment 179 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 18
Paragraph 18
18. Is concerned about the recent rise in export restrictions on vaccines by the main manufacturing countries such as the US, the UK, China and India and by the EU and emphasises that this endangers the rapid global scaling up of vaccine production capacity, disrupts production chains and could lead to retaliations; urges the Commission to engage with producing countries to swiftly eliminate export barriers and to replace the export authorisation mechanism with an export and import notification requirement; insists on having timely and comprehensive access to such data;
Amendment 211 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Invites the Commission to set out concrete and specificmap vulnerable supply chains and identify possible actions and a roadmap to implement the concept of open strategic autonomy; stresses that the EU’s market strength, values and adherence to cooperation, fairness and rule-based trade should be the basis of such openness; strongly recommends that the EU seeks out partnerships with like-minded partners; stresses, however, that where cooperation is not possible, the EU should pursue its interests through autonomous measures to protect its values and fight unfair trading practices;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 22
Paragraph 22
22. Welcomes the TPR’s affirmation of multilateralism and extensive proposals for the necessary in-depth reform of the WTO; shares the Commission’s emphasis on sustainable development in its vision for WTO reform and urges the Commission to bring to bear all efforts to implement a sustainable development agenda; stresses the importance of taking forward the WTO initiative on trade and climate, technology and climate and make progress on plurilateral negotiations on e-commerce and investment facilitation;
Amendment 235 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 24
Paragraph 24
24. Shares the suggestion made in the TPR that the G20 should cooperate and take a leading role in achieving carbon neutrality worldwide; stresses, however, that in order for this approach to be effective, some members will need to raise their emission reduction commitmentshowever stresses that reintroducing new trade tariffs would have implications for trade and global economy at a time when we want to maximise the strength of the post-Covid recovery;
Amendment 243 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 25
Paragraph 25
25. Supports the new, forward-looking transatlantic agenda based on common interests and, shared values and goals; urges the Commission and the US administration to cooperate closely in orderto find a solution to ongoing transatlantic trade disputes such as Boeing-Airbus conflict, digital taxes or tariffs on steel and aluminium, to cooperate in the framework of Transatlantic Trade and Technology Council and to work together on a new ambitious and comprehensive trade agreement; in order to increase market access to EU companies, to secure a level playing field and to agree on ambitious social and environmental standards and build on each other’s experience to enforce these more efficiently; calls for joint efforts to overcome the pandemic, speed up the economic recovery and facilitate trade in essential medical goods; reiterates that we should work together to achieve meaningful WTO reform and find common solutions to common problwith regard to the WTO’s dispute settlement systems;
Amendment 251 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Is aware of the importance of the EU’s multifaceted trade relationship with China which has become in 2020 the most important trading partner of the EU in trade of goods; firmly believes that EU- China trade relations require a more balanced and reciprocal approach; stresses that the ratification process of the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment making it beneficial for both sides; stresses that the EU-China Comprehensive Agreement on Investment (CAI) aims at increasing market access for investors and establishing rules that are to improve the level playing field for European companies in China; underlines that the ratification process of the CAI cannot be separated from the evolving dynamics of the wider EU-China relationship and can only begin once the EU has the requisite autonomous measures in place, including a ban on products made using forced labour, an upgraded trade defence toolbox and a working sanctions mechanism on human rights; demands that the Commission move forward with the Investment Agreement with Taiwan;
Amendment 267 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Welcomes the TPR’s engagement towards Africa and the Eastern and Southern Neighbourhoods and looks forward to concrete steps to deepen the EU’s relations with these partners; emphasizes that far more focus shall be placed on the Asia Pacific region - the most important part of the world in terms of economic growths for the foreseeable future and calls for comprehensive and ambitious Indo-Pacific strategy; reiterates the importance of a strategic and sustainable partnership with Southeast Asia, India and Latin America;