S'PORE, EU COMPLETE FIRST ROUND OF FTA NEGOTIATIONS

SINGAPORE, March 12 (Bernama) -- Singapore and the European Union (EU)
Friday completed the first round of negotiations on the EU-Singapore Free Trade
Agreement (EUSFTA) held here since Monday.

Negotiations on the FTA were officially launched by Singapore's Trade and
Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang and EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht on
March 3.

In a joint statement, the Republic's Trade and Industry Ministry and the
EU's European Commission said the two sides had constructive discussions on a
wide range of issues.

Among the issues discussed were trade in goods, rules of origin, trade
remedies, trade in services and investment, intellectual property, government
procurement, customs procedures, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical
barriers to trade, competition, sustainable development and dispute settlement.

The next round of negotiations is scheduled to take place in Brussels from
May 31 to June 4.
-- BERNAMA