The decision by the United Kingdom to host the first Commonwealth trade minister’s meeting in London on 9 & 10 March certainly smacks of imperial nostalgia. But Iana Dreyer takes a more sanguine view of a meeting that will help simplify the UK’s trade diplomacy post Brexit. The United …
Author: Iana Dreyer
Business hits back at Commission data flow plans for FTAs
An EU Commission draft template text on the cross-border movement of data currently under circulation is an embattled minefield, with the bulk of the digital community ready to hit back at it. The draft language is currently being prepared by DG trade with the intention to include it in …
Blog: France, Ireland and Italy feature alongside Germany in Navarro trade deficit discourse
The mainstream media have mostly picked upon Peter Navarro’s comments on Germany’s trade surplus with the United States during his speech at the National Association of Business Economics on Monday (6 March 2017). But other European countries should pay closer attention to what he says too. The White House …
Human rights protection enters EU export control universe
The European Parliament has started working on EU plans to review its export control legislation. The legislative process initiated can be expect to be messy as it significantly extends the scope of situations to which exports controls of so-called dual-use technologies could apply. The move puts the EU on …
Opinion: EU Trump-era FTA-turbo-charge rings hollow
Current Brussels talk about turbo-charging bilateral free trade negotiations rings hollow. In 2017, less is more, opines Iana Dreyer. EU member state trade ministers met in sunny Valletta, the capital of the Mediterranean island of Malta, the country that holds the rotating presidency, on Friday (3 March 2017). The …
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EU US pharma regulatory cooperation deal completed
The deal was clinched in the very last days of the Obama administration. After putting final touches to the text, Washington and Brussels have now initiated a regulatory cooperation agreement on pharmaceutical ‘good manufacturing practices’ inspections. The agreement is ready to come into force in November 2017. Not all …
Trade powers central in Commission view of EU future
Trade policy is an important aspect of the EU Commission’s freshly released White Paper on the future of Europe. In the Commission’s vision, a revamped EU would also be a more effective trade agreement negotiator. The Juncker Commission has put forward this vision for the future of the crisis-stricken European block …
TDI: Commission to phase out China solar panel duties
The European Commission is extending trade defence duties applied to solar panels and cells from China by another eighteen months. It is also planning to phase them out gradually. The move comes after a first failed initial proposal to extend those duties by two years following an expiry review finalised …
EU member states criticise Swiss trade and free movement barriers
Two years after it launched a review of its relationships with Switzerland, the Council has released its conclusions on the state of the EU’s deep and complex relationship with its small rich neighbour. Relations are good, but they need a framework and a fix in the area of agriculture and …
