News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
It’s been a pretty packed week. Here other low-key but important developments in EU trade policy. EU Mexico FTA stirrings The EU and Mexico had concluded negotiations towards the modernisation of a twenty year old free trade agreement in April 2018. But that agreement ‘in principle’ left the parties with …
It started with a bilateral entente between the EU and Canada, joined by Norway shortly thereafter. Now the number of countries that want to maintain an appeal mechanism in World Trade Organization’s prized dispute settlement system is starting to rise significantly as the reality sinks in that the Appellate Body …
The target set to China to increase its imports in a series of products by a value of US$ 200 billion in the next two years set in the so-called Phase One agreement between Washington and Beijing clinched last week will lead to China diverting imports and purchases from other …
The European Commission has circulated initial proposals to an ‘expert group’ on the extent of suspensions of duty-free-quota-free export rights it currently grants to Cambodia. Apparel, footwear, travel goods and sugar from the fast-growing South East Asian country are among the products that will face the reintroduction of duties and …
INTA MEPs have voted in favour of the EU Vietnam free trade agreement, with 29 votes in favour, 6 votes against, and 5 abstentions. MEPs spent significant time adding amendments to an accompanying resolution that delves on environment, labour and human rights issues. “There is a lot of homework in …
At a gathering hosted by the largest umbrella group for European business in Monday in Brussels, the EU’s trade commissioner was given a first opportunity to talk about EU-China relations and to debrief on his first official trip to Washington last week. The EU and China are currently intensely working …
Good morning. A heavy-duty week lies ahead in EU trade. China rock and US hard place There is China. The EU is still reeling from the fallout of the US-China trade agreement concluded as a ‘truce’ to end the mutual tariff escalation triggered by Washington in 2018. Be it the …
With input from Chris Horseman. The week in EU trade was dominated by preparations for trade agreement negotiations with Britain next month and Phil Hogan’s delicate trip to the United States. Hogan’s tweets mention meetings with members of Congress and the Senate and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The ‘big’ meeting …
Beaming in from Washington into a conference hosted by former trade commissioner Peter Mandelson in London on Thursday, Phil Hogan gave a most down-to-earth assessment of the current trade policy situation in Washington. Hogan’s approach to the United States so far is to seek to avoid further escalation of bilateral …
With the United States failing to deliver changes to Chinese subsidies and state-owned enterprise practices in the small trade ‘deal’ it is about to sign with Beijing, Washington appears keener to cooperate with other countries to address more ‘structural’ issues with the Asian behemoth. The EU and US are also …
