News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Monday, May 5, 2025
To avert tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU might consider developing its own ‘golf course diplomacy’, if one follows the friendly advice of a former US diplomat. The EU is trying to convince the United States to exempt it from planned punitive tariffs on its exports of steel …
Germany is leaving behind a period of six months of wait-and-see on major policy areas and has finally installed a new coalition government. For Berlin, Brexit is now starting to be one of the country’s top European priorities. The trade aspect of the UK’s withdrawal, transition period and future …
Peter Altmaier’s nomination at the helm of Germany’s powerful economics ministry today comes as no surprise. Angela Merkel’s former chief of staff takes over from a ministry held until recently by the SPD, as part of the coalition deal that gave the even mightier finance ministry to the centre-left’s Olaf …
Statements by European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier and the European Parliament’s Brexit leader, Guy Verhofstadt, today in the parliament in Strasbourg revealed nothing new about the EU’s position on everything related to Brexit (details in this blog series). So what’s new on the Brexit-and-trade …
What comes next in the EU-US row over President Donald Trump’s decision to slap import tariffs on steel and aluminium on national security grounds is not entirely clear. Uncertainty is part of the game. Experts familiar with Washington politics tend to think that the US president is in for some …
US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that his country would apply import tariffs on steel and aluminium of 25% and 10% respectively on national security grounds. The announcement was expected. Trump decided to exempt Canada and Mexico, close neighbours, major suppliers of these metals, and fellow members of the …
Parts of the UK business community are getting impatient at the way Brexit negotiations are being conducted. Positions are hardening and the disagreement reaching a new dimension over Northern Ireland. Will the British government survive this standoff? Business anger There was a real sense of anger at the …
The EU is soon to formally release its draft guidelines for the future EU-UK trading relationship. The proposal it makes is as expected: a ‘plain vanilla’ free trade agreement. The text is a rebuff of May’s speech last Friday. The European Parliament presented today its own draft resolution on the …
The European Commission is communicating loudly on its intentions should US President Donald Trump follow through on his intention to slap import duties of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium from Europe. Will Germany buy it? As widely reported and discussed on this website, the EU intends to …
The Court of Justice of the European Union ruled today unequivocally that intra-European international investor-state arbitration tribunals are not compatible with EU law. Its summary judgement gives little insight into how it might rule on the compatibility of international investor-state tribunals set up by the European Union with third countries. …
