Singapore, EU Completes Legal Scrubbing Of Investment Protection Chapter Of EUSFTA

SINGAPORE, May 23 (Bernama) -- Singapore and the European Union (EU) have completed the legal scrubbing of the Investment Protection Chapter (IPC) of the EU-Singapore Free Trade Agreement (EUSFTA). The finalised text of the IPC was initialled Friday by the State Counsels of both sides. In a statement, the Ministry of Trade and Industry said this marks the closure of the negotiations of the EUSFTA. The IPC, together with the Goods and Services portions of the EUSFTA initialled in September 2013, make up a comprehensive and ambitious free trade agreement. When the IPC comes into force as part of the EUSFTA, it will replace the 12 existing Bilateral Investment Treaties between Singapore and various EU Member States that were concluded over the past four decades. The IPC introduces important innovations such as more precise investment protection standards and new rules on the conduct of arbitration. The EUSFTA is also the first FTA concluded between EU and an ASEAN country. It is expected to boost bilateral trade and investment relations between the EU and Singapore. The completion of the EUSFTA also signals the EU’s commitment to step up its engagement with Southeast Asia. It is also a building block towards a potential EU-ASEAN FTA. Singapore is the EU’s 15th largest global trading partner and largest trading partner in ASEAN. In 2014, its bilateral trade in goods with the EU stood at close to S$96 billion. -- BERNAMA