The European Union said on Sunday it had completed final negotiations on a free-trade deal with Singapore, the bloc’s 13th-largest trading partner and home to more than 8,000 EU companies.
The agreement, which still needs to be ratified, was completed by EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Singapore Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang, the European Commission said in a statement.
Singapore is the EU’s largest trading partner in the Southeast Asia region, accounting for 74 billion euros (US$97 billion) of trade in goods and services.
EU-Singapore trade in goods grew by 40 per cent between 2009 and last year, the statement said.
The free-trade agreement is the second between the EU and an Asian country, after an accord with South Korea that came into effect in July last year, and the first with one of the 10 countries from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean).
“Singapore is a dynamic market for EU companies and is a vital hub for doing business across Southeast Asia,” De Gucht said in the statement.