SUBANG JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says the European Union is looking to work fast on a free trade agreement with Asean in light of the sweeping tariffs announced by the US earlier this month.
He said the EU was initially hesitant to sign an agreement with Asean but had now asked it to speed up the process. “So we have to move quickly,” said Anwar.
The EU and Asean have been exploring a potential free trade deal since 2007; negotiations were paused in 2009 to give way to bilateral negotiations, resulting in agreements with Singapore and Vietnam, and negotiations with other Asean members such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines.
Asean is the EU’s third-largest trading partner after the US and China with some 252 billion euros (RM1.2 trillion) of trade in goods in 2023, and 126 billion euros (RM633 million) in services in 2022.