News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Monday, April 28, 2025
So it looks like there is no obvious European Union candidate left to pull out of the hat like a rabbit ahead of next week’s deadline to file CVs for the director-general role for the World Trade Organization. With Hogan having pulled out of the race, and former ITC chief …
“We will continue to use our trade defence instruments in a robust fashion to ensure that our economic recovery takes place in a level playing field,” said Sabine Weyand in a recent meeting with MEPs last week. Discussing the revised EU steel safeguard, which is coming into force tomorrow, Weyand …
The German government officially released its fifteen-page work programme for the coming six months as it prepares to take over the rotating European Union presidency. To say the least Germany’s presidency comes at a very critical time for the EU. Berlin’s text largely aligns with the EU’s general direction of …
It was widely expected. The European Commission’s Phil Hogan will not throw himself in the race to become the next World Trade Organization director-general after all. Hogan did not find enough support among member states for his leadership bid – and soundings with other partners, including the United States – …
Germany takes over rotating EU presidency On Wednesday, Germany is taking over the presidency of the European Union for a period of six months. Its full six-month programme for the period starting in July 2021 will be released on Tuesday. But an 18-month ‘trio’ programme put together with Portugal and …
With new fire added to the brewing tensions in EU-US trade relations as new tariffs on the EU were announced in Washington, the EU mulling new retaliatory measures against US trade ‘coercion”, and Brussels infighting over the issue of who – if at all – it will put forward as …
The European Commission clearly fears the European Parliament could sabotage its attempt at getting an amended so-called ‘enforcement regulation’ up and running quickly. The EU wants to upgrade its legal arsenal to be able to respond to situations where a country blocks legal proceedings in the World Trade Organization’s Appellate …
COVID-19 trade collapse “could have been worse” says WTO’s Azevêdo The WTO released fresh data on global trade flows during the pandemic. Initial estimates for the second quarter, when the virus and associated lockdown measures affected a large share of the global population, indicate a year‑on‑year drop of around 18.5%,” …
The United States are currently threatening new tariffs on neighbours and allies left, right, front and centre. It’s clearly election campaign season for an embattled US president Donald Trump. Signs are European Union efforts to find some form of ‘settlement’ with the US on aircraft subsidies have been in vain, …
The countdown is on. The kick-off of a nomination process to a successor to Roberto Azevêdo, who resigned as World Trade Organization director-general, will begin in two weeks – on 8 July. Member countries need to put forward their candidates before then. So where are we in the process? As …
