These processes are at different stages of maturity and present relevant differences both in their scope and in the type of commercial advantages they could generate.

This note provides an overview of the main agreements under negotiation, their status, scope and expected commercial content.

_
Australia

Negotiation stage
Mature process, with widely developed texts and negotiation focused on sensitive chapters pending political closure.

Scope of the agreement
The agreement with Australia is designed as a comprehensive free trade agreement covering goods, services, investment, government procurement and trade facilitation, following an architecture comparable to that of other recent EU agreements with developed economies.

Anticipated business benefits

• Elimination or reduction of tariffs on industrial goods.
• Clear and stable rules of origin.
• Disciplines on technical barriers to trade and conformity assessment.
• Commitments in services related to industrial activity.
• Opening of public procurement.
• Customs facilitation measures.

_
United Arab Emirates

Negotiation stage
Intermediate process, started from scratch, with ongoing rounds and progressive definition of the chapter structure.

Scope of the agreement
The envisaged agreement is a comprehensive bilateral FTA that could cover goods, services, investment, government procurement, trade facilitation and digital trade, introducing for the first time a full preferential framework between the EU and UAE.

Anticipated business benefits

• Introduction of tariff preferences on industrial goods that do not currently exist.
• Definition of specific rules of origin.
• Commitments in trade facilitation and customs cooperation.
• Access to services and right of establishment.
• Possible commitments in public procurement.
• Disciplines in digital commerce.

_
Malaysia

Negotiation stage
Intermediate process, following the reactivation of negotiations after a long period of suspension.

Scope of the agreement
The negotiation with Malaysia is oriented towards a bilateral FTA with a main focus on goods, complemented by chapters on services, investment and trade facilitation, in line with other EU bilateral agreements in Southeast Asia.

Anticipated business benefits

• Progressive elimination of tariffs on industrial goods.
• Rules of origin adapted to regional chains.
• Chapters on technical barriers to trade and SPS measures.
• Improvement of customs procedures.
• Limited opening in services associated with industrial activity.

_
Thailand

Negotiation stage
Green process, with recent political relaunch and first rounds, without consolidated texts.

Scope of the agreement
The agreement with Thailand is at an early stage, with a general FTA approach whose final scope – including goods, services or investment – has not yet been precisely defined.

Potential commercial advantages

• Possible tariff reduction on industrial goods.
• Possible commitments on technical barriers and trade facilitation.
• Services and investment still undetermined.

_
Philippines

Negotiation stage
Very incipient process, limited to exploratory contacts and without a fully defined negotiating mandate.

Scope of the agreement
At this stage there is no clear definition of the scope of the possible agreement, beyond the generic reference to an eventual FTA that could include goods at a later stage.

Potential commercial advantages

• Eventual introduction of tariff preferences on industrial goods.
• Basic trade facilitation commitments.
• Regulatory and service content not yet determined.

_
Conclusion

Beyond Mercosur and India, the processes with Australia, the United Arab Emirates and Malaysia currently concentrate the highest density of potential trade opening in industrial goods, with different levels of maturity and certainty. For their part, Thailand and the Philippines remain in the initial stages and should be considered, for the time being, as medium-term follow-up processes rather than immediate sources of new trade preferences.