News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
It’s been an eventful week – with a lot of emotion around a cancelled French submarine deal. But fears that an inaugural EU US Trade and Technology Council would be postponed did not materialise. We also had the announcement of a new EU General Scheme of Preferences regulation. Here other …
Following a telephone conversation held between US president Joe Biden and the president of France on Wednesday (22 September) evening, the European Commission considered that a major political row between France and by extension to the entire European Union over the US Australia UK nuclear submarine agreement that erupted last …
The United States’ crashing into a submarine agreement Australia concluded with France, getting Paris kicked out of it and replace it with its own nuclear-powered technology, all done in secret and revealed suddenly last week is a shock to everyone.
It’s been an intense week in trade policy in Brussels, focused on preparations of the Trade and Tech Council with the United States to be held late September 2021. This week saw the launch of the first EU-wide Indo-Pacific strategy. The latter was overshadowed by a blow to French interests …
The European Union’s trade policy plans in the Indo-Pacific strongly focus strongly on the digital aspect of things, a new Communication unveiled today confirms. The EU is rolling out its Global Gateway – a pendant to China’s Belt and Road – through a new strategy initially requested by the EU’s member states. …
Negotiations towards a plurilateral agreement on e-commerce at the World Trade Organization moved another small step forward on Monday (13 September). Parties found a definitive settlement on two more sub-chapters in the area of ‘open government data’ and ‘online consumer protection’. It remains unclear what type of deliverable negotiators will …
The move comes as the EU executive has practically decided to suspend import duties on another aluminium product: flat-rolled items from China.
The European Commission is preparing to table a new regulatory proposal towards a so-called ‘anti-coercion’ instrument at the end of 2021. The European Parliament’s international trade committee is all set up to pick its fights over the new piece of legislation.
The European Commission and External Action Service are planning to unveil a proposal to start Digital Economy Partnership Agreement negotiations with Korea, Japan and Singapore as part of the European Union’s new Indo-Pacific strategy. The EU is also considering launching data privacy legislation “adequacy” negotiations with India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, …
The European Commission released a 2021 Strategic Foresight Report. This report is is an important signalling device on where Brussels intends to take the EU in the coming years with the blessing of its most powerful member states. And that path clearly heralds a trend towards more investment and trade …
