To discuss the advantages and limitations of existing Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) between the European Union and Latin America and the Caribbean, the EU-LAC Foundation, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Hamburg, organised a Keynote and Panel Discussion titled “Strengthening Ties between Latin America, the Caribbean, and Europe: Benefits of Free Trade Agreements from a Hamburg Perspective."
The event also aimed to identify future opportunities for Hamburg and regional businesses. The event was opened by Alberto Brunori, Executive Director of the EU-LAC Foundation, who emphasised that the FTAs constitute a pivotal framework of bi-regional relations with multidimensional impacts. In his welcoming remarks, Henrik Lesaar, Head of International Economic Relations of the Ministry of Economy and Innovation of Hamburg underlined that the city is a significant hub for trade with LAC nations for Germany and a large part of Europe.
The Keynote speech, presenting an overview of the achievements and opportunities of the existing agreements, was held by Bernd Lange, Member of the European Parliament and Chair of the International Trade Committee of the European Parliament.
Among the number of FTAs between the EU and LAC concluded over the past 20 years, he especially highlighted the agreements with Mexico, Chile and Colombia-Ecuador-Perú, and their positive impact on the bi-regional trade relations. The panel discussion featured Orlando Baquero, Director General of the Lateinamerika Verein e.V.; Sabine Kurtenbach, President a.i. of the German Institute for Global Area Studies; and MEP Bernd Lange.
Moderated by Carlos Maza of the EU-LAC Foundation, the debate focused on shared ambitions to strengthen the ties, also in view of the shared values between the two regions, and to facilitate commerce through FTAs. A central topic was the EU-Mercosur agreement, for which negotiations had started in 1999. The discussion was actively joint by the audience and the event therefore fulfilled its purpose to provide a platform for experts, researchers and other stakeholders to exchange and explore the opportunities presented by the FTAs between the EU and LAC. Hamburg as a hub for trade with LAC nations for Germany and also for Europe, and LAC as an important partner and vital global supplier for natural resources and raw materials, definitely have potential and ambitions to work closely together in the future.
You can read an in-depth study on the cartography of the European Union–Latin America and the Caribbean agreements, published by the EU-LAC Foundation, online.
