CECE takes a closer look at international trade: the CECE Trade Policy Commission
Trade is an exclusive competence of the European Union and is a key policy for competitive and high-value European industry.
The EU was particularly active over the last years in this policy area, by concluding and applying trade agreements with key commercial partners, notably Canada, Japan, South Korea, Vietnam and Singapore.
Because of Brexit, an agreement was reached with the United Kingdom in December 2020 to pave the way for the entry into force of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA).
Finally, agreements in principle have been reached in 2020 in negotiations with Mexico, the Mercosur area as well as China with the comprehensive agreement on investment (CAI). Trade negotiations are ongoing with Australia, New Zealand and Indonesia respectively.
Global trade is a key area for the European construction equipment industry. Through international trade, construction equipment manufacturers have access to foreign markets, global supply chains and raw materials.
The current transatlantic tensions include punitive tariffs on certain types of construction machines in the framework of the WTO Airbus & Boeing disputes. Specifically, since October 2019 the US has been applying additional ad valorem import duties of 25% on certain types of excavators from Germany and the UK. Similarly, since November 2020 the EU has been applying additional ad valorem import duties of 25% on certain types of loaders from the US. These measures are having devastating effects on the sales of construction equipment from both sides across the Atlantic.
The adoption of tariffs by the US and EU on their imports of construction machines has revitalised interest in trade by several CECE Members. For this reason, the CECE Executive Committee has approved to reactivate the CECE Trade Policy Commission, which has been inactive over the last years. The CECE Trade Policy Commission consists of members from national associations and several experts in trade from member companies. Besides dealing with the current tariffs, this new group will look at opportunities arising from the dynamic EU trade policy.
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