This is a first in a series of columns recapping some of the latest trade developments in the Asia-Pacific region. Some of the key developments in May include a meeting of trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum in Peru. Also, several trade agreements are on the horizon namely, …
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THINK TANK: Economic statecraft, G7, EU after Biden EV tariffs, southern neighbours
There are several standouts among think tanks this week focusing on the G7 and creating cohesive economic security guardrails, the European Union’s divergent response to Biden’s new Chinese tariffs, the risks of using economic statecraft in response to global instability and the EU’s relationship with the Southern Neighbourhood.
ASIA TRADE: Taiwan’s worsening trade policy predicament
Western democracies – as in the G7 – more outspokenly express support Taiwan’s right to participate in the international community than in the past amidst Beijing’s growing assertiveness. Yet in the trade and investment policy field concrete action from CPTPP members or the EU is missing.
Brussels in quest for response to US tariff move on China
The European Union finds itself between a rock and a hard place after the United States announced it was significantly raising existing Section 301 tariffs imposed in the Trump era on imports of electric vehicles, lithium batteries, solar cells, semiconductors and medical equipment to sweeping levels on Tuesday. Brussels fears …
THINK TANK: EU trade strategy and industrial policy, EU-Brazil
European think tanks have been busy exploring how to increase the European Union’s export performance, how the bloc should respond to Beijing’s industrial policy and the impact of Brussels’ climate regulations on Brazil.
Comment: The hollowing out of the EU’s commercial power base
To many, the European Union ends its 2019-2024 legislature triumphant, with a European Commission having deftly navigated the Trump years, the pandemic, the war in Ukraine and rocky relationships with China. But let’s not believe in fairy tales: the EU made dangerously deep cuts into the branch of the tree …
THINK TANK: Voluntary sustainability standards, CRM, China
Some notable topics covered by think tanks recently include barriers to integrating voluntary sustainability standard into bilateral free trade agreements, Africa’s critical raw materials and the China clean tech threat.
Lange: We have a more integrated perspective on trade policy
Bernd Lange served as chair of the European Parliament’s international trade committee for two terms. In an in-depth conversation with Iana Dreyer, he discussed what changes to EU trade policy occurred under his tenure in this pivotal position, where he sees future relationships with the United States and China – …
Romania solar foreign subsidies case: Chinese intra-corporate subsidy channels in focus
In its first formal in-depth investigation into a non-European Union bidder on a public tender under a new foreign subsidies regulation, the European Commission has chosen to focus on what it conceives as a disproportionate amount of government funds received by the companies back home compared to the size of …
WTO at 30: Director-general calls for national security exception fix
Speaking at an event hosted by the think tank Peterson Institute in Washington, the World Trade Organization’s director-general Ngozi Okonjo Iweala called on members of the institution to make efforts to agree on how to handle national security in a time of growing geopolitical frictions. The leader of the WTO …