Spain: The EU trade agreements are favoring the import of fruits and cereals from 3rd countries

According to the “Report on the Application of Free Trade Agreements with 65 Third Countries” recently published by the Commission, in 2019, 92% of total EU exports to these preferential partners were industrial products. The EU continued to export mainly machinery, chemical products and transport equipment, with growth rates of 1.5%, 6.3% and 5.7% respectively, according to the Report. In the case of agri-food products, exports grew by 8.7% in 2019, placing beverages at the top in terms of value, with 15% of preferential agri-food exports (+ 8.6%). The categories of cereals, dairy products and meat reached approximately 8% each and grew by 39%, 13.2% and 0.7% respectively. Regarding EU imports from 65 trading partners, 91% are industrial products, which increased by 2% in 2019. The three main categories were machinery and appliances (+3%), chemical products ( +16%) and mineral products (-7%). Agri-food imports increased 8.3%. The main imports were edible fruits and nuts (+3.9%), ...