News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Thursday, May 1, 2025
A new fault line is emerging in the crisis of the World Trade Organizations’ dispute settlement system. The European Union, which tabled proposals aimed at strengthening the Appellate Body’s independence – and won over China and India over to its ideas last year – is now facing a coalition of …
Sabine Weyand is to become next Director General for Trade, replacing the Frenchman Jean-Luc Demarty. Ms Weyand will lead the European Union’s trade bureaucracy after almost three years in a strategic post as deputy to the European Commission’s Article 50 Task force, the team that negotiated a ‘withdrawal agreement’ with …
Will the EU make its trade policy greener in the coming years? If anything, the politics of green trade will become messier, reckons Iana Dreyer.
Today’s trade ministers’ meeting was an opportunity to take stock of ongoing European Union-United States files. The gathering took place more than a week after US president Trump postponed imposing duties of up to 25% on imports of autos by six months. The US president however asked for negotiations to …
The Romanian presidency of the European Union is hoping to see the EU Vietnam free trade agreement agreed by member states and ready for signature with Hanoi by the end of June. Bucharest appears less confident a separate investment protection agreement can be agreed by the Council by the same …
There will be few trade policy related meetings this week in the European Union, not least due to a holiday on Thursday. European elections fallout The leadership in Brussels will mainly be busy digesting the fallout from this week-end’s Europe-wide polls. Heads of state are gathering for a special summit …
There’s been movement on WTO issues this week. The EU has triggered Plan B on the appellate body, and the Paris meeting of trade ministers also helped WTO members bring a few other ongoing files forward.
The European Commission is preparing the EU for life without the World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body.
“It will come. And soon,” a source close to the Indonesian government said when asked if and when Jakarta would file a dispute at the World Trade Organization in response to the EU’s new rules on biofuel mixes being released today (21 May). Tuesday was the final act of a …
This week will mainly be about the European Union digesting Donald Trump’s decision to postpone slapping tariffs on imported autos for six months to seek a deal with Brussels and Tokyo on restricting imports. EU-US and OECD trade ministerial Trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström reacted quickly on Friday (17 May) on …
