Trade with the European Union and its member states does not depend on being members of the European Union.

At present, the European Union (EU) has bilateral and regional trade agreements with the following countries:

Free trade agreements (FTA) with Chile, South Africa, Mexico, and South Korea; as part of the wider European Economic Area

FTAs with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland;

Negotiations with Central America (El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Honduras and Panama), Andean Nations (comprising Peru and Columbia), and Ukraine have been concluded, and will be ratified in due course.

Negotiations are ongoing with other countries or groups of countries, namely: Canada; India; Mercosur (Argentina, Brazil, Venezuela, Uruguay and Paraguay); Singapore; Malaysia; Vietnam; Moldova; Georgia; Armenia; and the Gulf Co-operation Council.

Furthermore, the Government are supportive of negotiations starting in 2013 with Japan, the
USA, Morocco and Thailand.

In addition, as a member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), a multilateral trading system for the 157 member countries, the EU is party to both the general agreement on tariffs and trade (GATTS) and general agreement on trade in services (GATS).

The EU also has various other trade agreements with other countries or groups of countries: association agreements (AAs), economic partnership agreements (EPAs), stabilisation and association agreements (SAAs), partnership & co-operation agreements (PCAs) and memberships of the Customs Union.