Association Agreement boosting EU exports to Georgia

By signing the Association Agreement (AA) in June 2014, relations between the EU and Georgia were brought to a new level. The AA, with its Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area, foresees far reaching political cooperation and economic integration with the EU by significantly deepening mutual ties and bringing Georgia closer to the EU. The provisional application of the DCFTA part of the Agreement began on 1 September 2014, and the Agreement (as a whole) entered into full force on 1 July 2016.

In 2016, the EU was Georgia’s (GE) key trading partner, with a 31% share in its total trade (27% before the entry into force of the DCFTA), followed by Canada (15%), Turkey (around 13%), Russia (about 7%), China (6%) and Azerbaijan (over 5%). Trade with Georgia accounts for 0.1% of the EU’s total trade. The main EU importers from Georgia are Bulgaria, Italy and Germany.

In 2016, total bilateral EU-Georgia trade slightly decreased by 2.3% year-on-year. EU imports from Georgia decreased by 25%, and amounted to €551 million, whereas the value of EU exports to Georgia increased by 6.7% to €1.96 billion. The decrease in EU imports from Georgia is nominal and mainly driven by changes in the prices of Georgia’s exports of mineral fuels (-81%), nuts (-8%), fertilizers (-60%), and mining products (-4%). Those four products account for almost 60% of total Georgian export to the EU.

As a direct result of the DCFTA, new Georgian exports to the EU are materialising. Georgian kiwis, blueberries, nuts, garlic and wine are exported to the EU and have seen sizable increases of exports.

The revised EU-Georgia Association Agenda defining a new set of cooperation priorities for the period 2017-2020 is expected to be adopted before summer 2017. The Agenda helps Georgia fully enjoy the benefits of the Association Agreement. Georgia has adopted over 7,000 European standards in areas like health, safety and environmental protection with EU support. This means safer products for Georgian citizens and increased export opportunities for Georgian businesses.

source: satprnews.com