Just three out of Ireland's 11 Member of European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favour of a proposed free trade agreement between the EU and Singapore this week. Mairead McGuinness, Sean Kelly and Deirdre Clune voted for the recently finalised deal on Wednesday this week.
Just three out of Ireland's 11 Member of European Parliament (MEPs) voted in favour of a proposed free trade agreement between the EU and Singapore this week.
Mairead McGuinness, Sean Kelly and Deirdre Clune voted for the recently finalised deal on Wednesday this week.
Matt Carthy and Luke Ming Flanagan voted against the deal. Marian Harkin and Nessa Childers abstained, while there were no recorded votes for the others.
Passed
Overall, the vote was passed by the European Parliament, with 425 votes in favour, 186 votes against and 41 abstentions.
Ireland currently exports milk powder and whey to Singapore, among other things.
Figures from the European Commission show that Irish exports to Singapore are valued at €683m, while imports are valued at €467m.
Bilateral deals
The trade and investment agreements with Singapore are the EU's first completed bilateral deals with a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Within ASEAN, Singapore is by far the EU's largest partner, with a total bilateral trade in goods of €53.3bn (2017) and in services of €44.4bn (2016).
Middle income class and average incomes have risen by 66.4% in the past 10 years
Singapore is both a city and a country.
While Ireland is 101 times bigger than Singapore, the population of Singapore is 1.2 times larger than Ireland and so relies quite heavily on imported foods.
Middle income class and average incomes have risen by 66.4% in the past 10 years.
Singapore is within the top 15 in the world for value of imports, importing a value shy of €6.8bn for food and live animals in 2017.
The free trade agreement aims to:
Remove nearly all customs duties and get rid of overlapping bureaucracy.Improve trade for goods like electronics, food products and pharmaceuticals.Stimulate green growth, remove trade obstacles for green tech and create opportunities for environmental services.Encourage EU companies to invest more in Singapore and Singaporean companies to invest more in the EU. Important agreement
“This is an important agreement that will boost our trade with the most important of the ASEAN economies and is a stepping stone towards a wider trading agreement with the entire region,” Fine Gael’s European Parliament spokesman on international trade Sean Kelly MEP said.
“This agreement makes it easier for EU firms of all sizes to export to Singapore.
"It eliminates customs duties, facilitates regional and global value changes, and removes technical and non-tariff barriers to trade.”
Kelly concluded by calling on the European Council to follow parliament's lead and approve the agreement as soon as possible.
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Northwest Ireland to southeast Asia
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