If this were not the COVID-19 lockdown period, the EU’s new trade defence duties on glass fibre fabrics – decided upon last week and published on Monday in the Official Journal – would have received much more media attention.
Author: Iana Dreyer
EU US trade talk update: videoconference deal-making and cigarette lighter duties
The European Union and the United States are focusing on getting over the coronavirus pandemic. But on trade, they are still ‘talking’, so to speak. Today the talk coming out of the EU is mildly tougher than usual. The EU announced a modest set of ‘rebalancing’ measures taken in response …
WTO e-commerce moratorium and plurilateral talks: state of play
A lot is up in the air. With next June’s twelfth World Trade Organization ministerial conference in Kazakhstan postponed and most meetings largely called off due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, there is now much less pressure on trade negotiators to meet a big deadline and secure deals. So, what’s …
An EU duty and VAT waiver for disaster relief imports
The European Commission officially announced this afternoon that it allowed member states to waive import duties and VAT on imports of medical goods that would be used for relief purposes in their efforts to fight the COVID 19 pandemic. Member states have started moving ahead with waivers this week after …
INTA to Commission: limit the damage on medical gear export restrictions
The European Parliament’s international trade committee has urged the European Commission to exempt the Western Balkans from a new regime of export restrictions on medical protective gear and to ensure the measure genuinely remains temporary. The letter comes as the EU prepares follow-up steps on a decision mid-March to temporarily …
EU enforcement regulation makes headway to match alternative WTO appeals mechanism
Council members agreed to temporarily bury the hatchet on a regulatory proposal tabled by the European Commission that aims to empower it to take ‘retaliatory’ trade measures should a World Trade Organization counterpart block litigation proceedings. The EU is bent on making sure it can continue to use a two-tier …
Blog: Highlights from this year’s USTR National Trade Estimate’s EU chapter
It’s that time of the year. The publication of the National Trade Estimate report by the US Trade Representative is a yearly ritual and must-read by any trade policy wonk in the world. Even non-US diplomats and policy makers sneakily look up the monumental 500-page annual document that lists all …
EU prepares to take new set of trade measures to secure medical supplies
EU member states are now allowed to suspend the payment of import duties on imports of vital medical supplies. The move is expected to be formalised later this week, European Commission sources said. Consultations with businesses and government are ongoing in an attempt to secure vital supplies amidst an almost …
In brief: Council gives final green light to EU Vietnam FTA
Today EU member states gave their final assent to the EU Vietnam free trade agreement – the move was delayed by a few weeks due to the disturbances in the EU meeting calendar brought by the COVID-19 situation. The flagship trade pact with the South East Asian emerging market is …
Closed borders: EU moves to ease people movement in bid to secure health and food supplies
Should the COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe last – it looks like the crisis isn’t yet over – we might see a gradual fading of the chaos that has been witnessed at borders within the single market and with non-EU countries following abrupt closures in recent weeks aimed at stemming the …
