The EU and Canada are true to their pledge made during the CETA negotiation process to work together towards the establishment of an international investment court, with the aim to overcome international arbitration – otherwise known as ISDS – to settle disputes between international investors and host states. Trade commissioner …
Author: Iana Dreyer
EU free trade agreement negotiation round-up
“The trade agenda is not stopping”, a senior trade official in the Commission told trade professionals in Brussels today. The transatlantic TTIP and TiSA (Trade in Services Agreement) were suspended in late 2016. The incoming Donald Trump administration is leaving many United States trade partners orphans of the Transpacific Partnership and making protectionism victims – notably NAFTA’s …
EP: renewal of trade committee lies ahead
Signs are that relative stability is the name of the game at the trade committee – INTA – which is due to be renewed on Thursday 19 January. The European Parliament has been renewing its leadership. A new political configuration has emerged: the end of an informal ‘grand coalition’ arrangement between the two …
EU, US say TTIP can be concluded conditional on “political will”
“The progress we have achieved so far gives us confidence that, with continued engagement by both sides, and with the political will to prioritize long-term gains for our economies and our broader relationship, the United States and the EU could achieve what we set out to do in 2013: conclude …
UK Prime Minister May seeks free trade pact with EU outside Single Market
Britain’s Prime Minister Theresa May has set out the key negotiating objectives of her government in a strongly anticipated speech in London today (17 January 2017), as it finalises preparations to take the country out of the EU. It is now official: Britain is heading out of the Single …
Last ditch attempt to overcome row over CETA Joint Committee ahead of Parliament ratification
Shadow rapporteur for the left-of-centre S&D group, Romanian MEP Sorin Moisa, has been trying to defuse a fresh crisis brewing in the group over CETA ahead of a trade committee vote. The disagreement is about the powers of the treaty’s coordinating body, the so-called Joint Committee. Moisa believes clarifications offered …
EU initiated record number of trade defence investigations in 2016
Freshly released trade defence statistics show that the EU Commission has launched a record number of new antidumping and anti-subsidy investigations in 2016. EU trade defence authorities launched 24 new cases, the highest number in many years: the Commission initiated 19 cases in 2012, and 14 only in 2015. At least …
In brief: Trump threatens German carmaker’s planned Mexican operation with punitive tariffs
US president-elect Donald Trump, who is set to take the reins of power on 20 January 2017, has told Germany’s top tabloid newspaper Bild Zeitung, that BMW, one of Germany’s top carmakers, would face a 35 percent import duty on 3 Series sedans it is planning to start building in San …
The week in EU trade: Davos, Trump, Brexit, Parliament
It’s Davos week. It’s also Trump week: a new trade era will open this week as president-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated on Friday (20 January 2017). WTO trade ministers will gather for the annual Swiss-hosted informal ministerial meeting, the same day as the inauguration of President Donald Trump in Washington. …
Transatlantic : EU and US make last trade gestures before Obama administration folds
An era of uncertainty opens in transatlantic relations, as in exactly one week President Obama (20 January 2017) will hand over the reins of power to Donald Trump. The US administration will focus on settling into working mode and not enter major trade negotiations for several months at least. US trade policy is also expected …
