The European Commission unveiled a package of measures Tuesday aimed at helping to boost European trade in goods and services. The Commission said the measures, which include new trade deals with Japan, Mexico and South Korea, would boost global growth, create thousands of new jobs and boost consumer welfare. The deal with Japan will allow businesses to get better access to the Japanese market. The agreement with Mexico will help the EU expand its market share in the Mexican telecommunications sector, which currently accounts for a small portion of EU exports. The EU is also set to become the number one trading partner with South Korea. One of the measures would see the European Investment Bank make available up to 2 billion euros in long-term financing for new infrastructure in Mexico, China, India and other countries to develop their manufacturing sectors and expand EU trade ties. The deal would also make it easier for companies to move goods between the EU and Latin America. The Commission said the deal would cut red tape for European companies, allowing them to access more of the market quickly. European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis said the deal with Japan is an example of the EU's willingness to sign trade deals with emerging countries, such as India and Mexico, which have been excluded in the past. The Commission's trade chief Cecilia Malmström said the deal with Mexico would open up market access to European businesses in sectors that currently make up less than 10 percent of EU exports to the country. Mexico is Europe's sixth-largest trade partner. "The agreement would open up Mexico to European agriculture, the food industry, as well as high-value manufacturing and services," she said. Malmström said it is vital for the EU to diversify trade away from the United States, whose strong economy has made it more difficult for the bloc to negotiate new trade agreements. European leaders meeting at a summit in Brussels on Thursday approved the measures, which need the backing of EU member states, legislators and regional and local authorities to take effect. "The world can't stand still and we have a need to be ambitious. We need to be ambitious in opening new markets and removing obstacles to trade for our businesses," Malmström told a news conference. EU Commission Vice President Jyrki Katainen said EU governments have committed to helping their member states make sure the measures are implemented. The Commission will also seek to cut red tape for firms, and support small and medium-sized enterprises with the help of business chambers and chambers of commerce. The new trade package, which takes effect on January 1, is the latest in a long line of efforts to expand the EU's trade and create new jobs. The EU's aim is to double its GDP by 2020, and to achieve a sustainable level of growth so it can cope with future economic changes. The EU is widely seen as the most dynamic of the world's major economies, but it faces strong challenges, not least in the form of a stagnating growth rate. The EU is the world's largest trading bloc with over 500 million consumers, while the bloc is also the world's biggest investor. It is also the second largest economic bloc, with an economy of around $17 trillion (€12.9 trillion). The commission, which is made up of member states and legislators, began an antitrust case against Google in June after concluding that the company was abusing its dominant position by privileging its own comparison shopping service in its search results. The company has consistently denied this allegation. The case has raised concerns among businesses that it would be more difficult to sell their goods and services on the internet if they did not have the same type of online prominence as Google. The Commission had previously sought to prevent Google from giving an unfair commercial advantage to its own product in search results, a so-called "search bias." The EU competition commissioner accused Google of using its search engine as a way of excluding rivals from the market. The commission's move against Google has resulted in a years-long battle. The EU's actions against Google have drawn criticism from the US Federal Trade Commission, which questioned the European commission's authority to impose its own rules on Google's search business, a sector in which it does not operate. Explore further EU launches antitrust probe against Google in Android case © 2016 AFP