EU lifts highest ever number of trade barriers in 2017

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - The European Commission reported on Tuesday that it had eliminated the highest number ever of trade barriers faced by EU companies doing business abroad in 2017.

Some 45 obstacles were fully or partially resolved in various sectors last year. This was more than twice as many as in 2016, according to its annual report on trade and investment barriers.

"Thanks to those barriers removed between 2014 and 2016 alone, in 2017 EU companies exported an additional €4.8 billion [$5.6 billion]," the European Commission said.

The report showed that some 67 new barriers were also recorded last year, taking the total tally of existing obstacles to a stark 396 between 57 different trading partners around the world.

"Russia is still on top in terms of highest trade restrictions, closely followed by China, Indonesia and India," the report read.

It added that results confirmed the worrying protectionist trend identified in previous years.

"China displayed the largest increase in new barriers in 2017, followed by Russia, South Africa, India and Turkey," it said.

The report noted that the Mediterranean region also showed a notable rise in barriers for EU companies with seven countries adding seven new barriers.

The EU's trade commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom said the bloc was determined to ensure that foreign markets remain equally open to European firms and products.

Malmstrom underlined that ensuring that EU companies have access to foreign markets is at the heart of the bloc's trade policy.

"Today's report also underlines that effective solutions can be found within the international rulebook. As protectionism grows, EU enforcement of the rules must follow suit," she said.