Greece became a member of the World Trade Organization on the 1st of January,1995, and the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) on the 1st of March,1950. It is a European Union member state, hence, it benefits from the numerous European Union trade agreements and policies. Among the trade agreements are;
European Union and South African Development Communities (SADC)
The EU and the SADC EPA Group (Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Eswatini) signed an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) on June 10, 2016. Angola has the option of joining the agreement at a later date. The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are negotiating EPA agreements with the EU.
European Union and The Caribbean Forum (CARIFORUM)
The CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement was signed in October 2008 by Antigua and Barbuda, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad & Tobago, and Saint Kitts and Nevis. Haiti signed the agreement in December 2009 but has yet to implement it because it has not been ratified. After the United States, the EU is CARIFORUM’s third-largest trading partner. Fuel and mining goods, such as petroleum gas and oils, bananas, sugar, and rum, minerals (particularly gold, corundum, aluminum oxide, and hydroxide), iron ore products, and fertilizers, are the principal exports from the Caribbean to the EU. Boats, ships, cars, construction vehicles and engine parts, phone equipment, and milk are the most common EU imports into the Caribbean.
European Union and Eastern and Southern Africa(ESA)
The Indian Ocean islands (Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles), countries from the Horn of Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, and Sudan), and several countries in Southern Africa make up Eastern and Southern Africa (Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe). An interim Economic Partnership Agreement was agreed upon by the EU and six ESA members — Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Zambia, and Zimbabwe — in 2007. Four of the countries signed the pact in August 2009-Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe. They’ve been using it on a trial basis since May 14, 2012. In July 2017, Comoros signed the pact. It ratified it in February 2019 and began implementing it. The European Parliament gave its approval to the agreement in January 2013. Other countries that want to join later can still do so. The interim EPA between the EU and Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, and Zimbabwe includes provisions such as eliminating EU duties and quotas on imports from these countries. The five countries that have implemented the agreement have stated their willingness to expand beyond commodities trade to a more complete deal. On October 2, 2019, negotiations to deepen the EPA began.
European Union and Central America
The EU and Central American countries signed a new Association Agreement on June 29, 2012. The Association Agreement’s trade pillar has been in effect with Honduras, Nicaragua, and Panama since August 1, 2013, Costa Rica and El Salvador since October 1, 2013, and Guatemala since December 1. The Agreement is built on three complementary and equally significant pillars: political discussion, cooperation, and trade, all of which strengthen and reinforce each other’s effects. The EU’s key trade policy goal for Central America is to boost bilateral trade. In practice, this entails the establishment of a Central American customs union and economic integration.
European Union – Colombia & Peru
The EU and Colombia and Peru have a comprehensive trade deal. The agreement gradually liberalizes both parties’ markets and improves the trade and investment environment’s stability and predictability. Bolivia, which is a member of the Andean Community, may potentially apply to join the trade deal. The EU-Colombia/Peru Trade Agreement was signed in June 2012 and has been provisionally applied since March 2013.
