Bourgeois: “The new EU trade agreement with Chile proves the urgent need for more free trade”

The European Parliament approves a new free trade agreement between the EU and Chile. N-VA delegation head and group coordinator for the Committee on International Trade Geert Bourgeois is particularly pleased: “This is a bit of good news at the last minute after all.”

The new agreement is important for several reasons. “First, it strengthens our open strategic autonomy regarding critical raw materials such as lithium. That is of great geostrategic importance,” says Bourgeois. “We really must not leave the entire field to China, which applies lower and therefore less sustainable standards than the EU. Finally, the impact on our agricultural products will also be negligible.”

Belief in free trade

According to Bourgeois, the fact that the European Parliament managed to approve a trade agreement at the last minute after all confirms the belief in free, rules-based trade. “A hopeful signal in these difficult times of deglobalisation and fragmentation and necessary for the improvement of working conditions, the fight against climate change and sustainability worldwide,” Geert Bourgeois concludes.