The European Union and Canada have started negotiating a mutual recognition agreement on the professional qualifications of architects. The proposed deal is part of CETA, the EU-Canada trade accord that has been in force provisionally since 2017.
Author: Iana Dreyer
WTO: E-commerce negotiators take talks to next stage
Plurilateral e-commerce negotiations at the World Trade Organization are progressing, bit by bit. After a plenary session of the close to 90 participating countries on Tuesday (20 April), the conveners Japan, Australia and Singapore were able to announce that two small paragraphs of legal language were closed.
EU-Mercosur: The elusive quest for a formula to make the deal ratifiable
The EU-Mercosur Association Agreement is being much talked about and commented on in Europe. But little is actually happening concretely on the path towards ratification of a controversial political and trade agreement that was inked in the summer 2019.
Week in Brussels: IPI, China, French Senators on CETA, DG Trade musical chairs
This has been an intense week in European Union trade policy, with the continuous transatlantic file rolling on, a lot of action in Geneva, the EU and the ACP group finally concluding their post-Cotonou agreement and the European Parliament active on a variety of trade files. MEPs voted to resume …
Opinion: Post-Cotonou agreement trade provisions are shockingly asymmetrical
The European Union and the group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries concluded negotiations to update the framework agreement that shapes their political and economic relationships on Thursday (15 April 2021). This post-Cotonou agreement is all about political cooperation on anything ranging from human rights to migration to ‘peace and …
Biden-era transatlantic trade cooperation faces headwinds
United States-European Union political relations have seen a noticeable improvement since Joe Biden took over at the White House in Washington. Discussions are intense in the area of climate change and on security – not least on international sanctions. On the trade policy front there was one US gesture that …
WTO Director-General sees ‘framework’ on trade and health for MC12
The new director-general of the World Trade Organization Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala convened a brainstorming meeting on Wednesday (14 April 2021) aiming to find solutions to ramp up global production of vaccines and health products to help combat the still-raging global COVID-19 pandemic.
WTO Corner: The quest for a post-COVID 19 agenda
The WTO currently comes across as being in a transition. This is predictable at a time of leadership change and renewal at its secretariat. The new director-geneal is interviewing candidates for the post of deputy DG, is pushing the fish-subsidies agenda and potentially steering the WTO institution into a new …
In brief: European Parliament resumes UK TCA ratification process
The European Parliament’s political group leaders have met today to decide what to do next about the ratification of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. These are the next steps: the foreign affairs committee and the international trade committee will vote on the deal on Thursday (15 April 2021). The …
Week in Brussels: Uzbekistan, palm oil
It’s been a slow start after Easter, but the trade policy machinery in Brussels is gradually getting back into gear. Turkey Only a few weeks into calmer waters a new storm broke out in the EU-Turkey relationship. While the news is about about protocol matters and Sofa Gate, one of …
