This article was updated on 13 October 2016. Could this incident become an embarrassment for the government in Ottawa which risks complicating an already complicated adoption and ratification process for CETA? It will certainly give further fodder to anti CETA activists. José Bové, a colourful MEP from the Greens group, an …
Author: Iana Dreyer
CETA declaration has “legal value” – EU chief negotiator
Dismissed as hot air by many CETA critics, given its ‘interpretative’ nature – and because it does not alter the agreement – the ‘declaration’ the EU and Canada are currently drafting to allay concerns of trade critics in the EU and increase the chances that the trade agreement with Canada is approved …
In brief: One more week to CETA approval
The EU’s member states will decide next week (18 October 2016) whether to endorse a groundbreaking trade agreement with Canada. The deal has to be endorsed by all member states, then ratified by the EU Parliament and the 28 national legislatures. Next week the Council needs to give the green light …
Brexit: UK-China FTA could threaten German, Slovakian car industry – study
A new study by the think tank Bruegel believes that, should the UK sign a free trade agreement with China, its car industry could gain a significant advantage over its EU based competitors – especially in Germany and Slovakia. The more so if the UK stays in the single market after …
EU Japan FTA: Japanese music industry seeks more copyright protections
The Japan Council of Performers Rights and Performing Arts Organizations and the Recording Industry Association of Japan are lobbying for increased copyright protection in the EU Japan free trade agreement currently under negotiation. Trade Commissioner Malmström is trying to placate them. In a letter to the organizations early October (7 …
Negotiators openly drop aim of concluding TTIP in 2016
Negotiators on both sides of the Atlantic have clearly given up on the idea of concluding TTIP talks this year, despite progress achieved on the technical aspects of the negotiations.
Appellate Body upholds WTO rebuff of EU antidumping duties on Argentinean biodiesel
The WTO’s appellate body upheld an earlier ruling outlawing EU antidumping duties on Argentinean biofuels. The case has broader ramifications for EU antidumping policy going forward as it follows on other converging rulings in the Court of Justice of the EU.
CETA: draft declaration hints at “effectively enforceable” labour and environment provisions in early revision
The German Social-Democrats were promised a declaration by trade commissioner Malmström and trade minister Freeland ahead of a coming Council meeting that aims to give the green light to the signature and ratification of CETA later this month. They are getting it. And it does not quite satisfy the demands made by Bernd …
Trade remedies among top topics on table in EU Indonesia agreement kick-off talks
At a time when EU antidumping methodologies face repeated setbacks either in the WTO or in the Court of Justice of the EU – as highlighted with the latest Appellate Body report on EU duties on Argentinean biofuels – trade remedies have featured highly in the two-day meetings held between the …
INTA Chair Lange worries China MES deadline will be missed
In a letter to Commissioner Malmström, the head of the European Parliament’s trade committee expressed concerns the EU was running late in tabling legislative proposals to ensure it in compliance with its WTO obligations ahead of a December 2016 deadline to grant China market economy treatment in its antidumping legislation. …
