Latvian Foreign Ministry welcomes EU's progress in trade diversification

RIGA - The Foreign Ministry's Under-Secretary of State for Economic Affairs, Ivita Burmistre, has commended the European Commission's (EC) work on trade diversification is welcome.

As LETA was told at the Foreign Ministry, this week, Burmistre attended an informal meeting of European Union (EU) trade ministers in Nicosia, Cyprus.

At the meeting, ministers discussed progress in EU trade negotiations with third countries. Burmistre expressed appreciation for the European Commission's intensive work and achievements in trade diversification, which will provide businesses with new export opportunities and boost the EU's competitiveness.

At the beginning of 2026, the EU-Mercosur trade agreement with Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay was signed, and the agreement could come into effect later this year. The European Commission concluded trade negotiations with Mexico and Indonesia in 2025, as well as with India in early 2026, and work is underway to prepare these agreements for signature, the Foreign Ministry said.

The European Commission is also continuing negotiations on trade agreements with Australia, the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and the United Arab Emirates.

Ministers also discussed ways to speed up the EU's administrative procedures for concluding trade agreements. Burmistre pointed out that it is essential to make use of the opportunities offered by the EU’s trade agreements with third countries as soon as possible, thus, ensuring that economic sectors have immediate access to the benefits offered by the agreements in new markets.

At the same time, Burmistre emphasized the need for the EU to reduce trade with Russia and Belarus. All possible instruments, including trade policy, should be used to achieve this goal. Latvia will continue to call on the European Commission to develop further proposals for sectoral tariffs on imports of goods from Russia and Belarus.

At the meeting, ministers also discussed EU-China trade relations, which are unbalanced in terms of both trade flows and investment, as well as due to existing market access asymmetries. The discussion covered matters related to solutions for reducing risks in these economic relations.

The European Union's priorities for the 14th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO), which will take place in Yaounde, Cameroon, from March 26 to 29, were also discussed.

According to the Foreign Ministry, it is important for the EU and Latvia that this conference defines a path for WTO reform to address challenges such as WTO decision-making, dispute settlement, unfair state subsidies, deliberate trade imbalances and other issues.

Informal meetings of trade ministers take place once every six months. Trade is an area of exclusive EU competence. The European Union has already concluded trade agreements with more than 70 partners, mutually reducing trade tariffs and administrative barriers.