Free Trade Deal Between EU, Singapore Takes Effect On Thursday

The EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), the first FTA concluded between the European bloc and an ASEAN country, entered into force on Thursday, the European Commission said

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 21st November, 2019) The EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA), the first FTA concluded between the European bloc and an ASEAN country, entered into force on Thursday, the European Commission said.

On October 19, 2018, Singapore's Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong inked EUSFTA with European Council President Donald Tusk and European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.

"The EU-Singapore trade agreement - effective as of today - will boost trade, benefitting companies, farmers, workers and consumers on both sides. It will also become a gateway to the fast-growing Southeast-Asian region," EU Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmstrom said in a statement.

The commissioner added that with this agreement, the EU had the biggest trade network on the globe.

"At a time when the fundamentals of open and rules-based global trade are put into question, we need agreements like this more than ever," Malmstrom noted.

Singapore is the EU's most important trade partner in Southeastern Asia, with the current overall trade of about $58 billion in goods and about $56 billion in services.