According to the European Commissioner for Trade Issues Cecilia Maelstrom, Georgia has real potential to increase the amount of Georgia-made products to the EU market and its 500 million consumers. The EU and Georgia are working together to grow trade relations and realise this goal.
Eighteen months ago Georgia’s Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Area (DCFTA) agreement came into force and since then Georgia and the EU have both benefitted greatly from the deal, said Malmstrom.
Commissioner Malmstrom visited Georgia’s capital Tbilisi on March 21 to meet politicians, business representatives, students and members of civil society to take stock of the implementation of the EU-Georgia DCFTA deal, which came into force after the Association Agreement was siged in June 2014.
The EU-Georgia DCFTA has strengthened the trade relationship between the EU and Georgia. Today the EU is Georgia's first export destination, receiving 29 percent of Georgian exports - an increase of 15 percent in the first year of the trade agreement. Total trade between the two amounted to over €2.5 billion last year.
