The United Kingdom is slowly gearing up its activities as a non-European Union member of the World Trade Organization and revealing its own ‘colours’ in various trade files.
Latest news
DG Trade mulls self-initiating labour and environment breach investigations
The European Union is considering launching unilaterally investigations into breaches of environment and labour or ‘sustainable development ‘ commitments – of its trading partners.
Biden administration trade policy and the EU: what to really expect?
The European Union’s political establishment is relieved that the Democratic candidate to the White House Joe Biden has won the United States elections this month. While improvement of political relationships is in the offing, a there will be no miraculous return to close and harmonious relationships across the Atlantic. And …
EU dual use exports controls: deal reached on cyber and human rights
The three European Union institutions finalised negotiations to expand the scope of its dual-use export control regime to cybersurveillance technology with the aim of protecting human rights.
Week in Brussels: European Commission trade defence push
This week’s Week in Brussels column focuses on EU trade defence.
Comment: Transatlantic trade relations after the US elections
Whoever ends up winning the election in the United States, the European Union now urgently needs to put serious security and geostrategic thinking first and avoid using its trade policy as an easy ‘ersatz’ for genuine security and international diplomacy, argues Borderlex’s founder Iana Dreyer.
WTO Corner: Hong Kong sues US, fish talks, COVID and US election hiatus
Hong Kong contests US ‘China’ label for its goods exports Hong Kong has filed a dispute against a new United States rule that obliges goods exports from Hong Kong to be labelled as coming from ‘China’. Hong Kong, a WTO member, is a separate customs territory and nominally a different …
EU institutions conclude deal on trade enforcement
The European Union will very soon have a revamped ‘enforcement regulation’, a hitherto hardly known legal instrument that allows the bloc to retaliate against countries contravening international trade norms and not cooperating in legal disputes and thus protect itself against ‘appeals into the void’ at the World Trade Organization. The …
WTO DG: Okonjo-Iweala nomination faces hurdle of US opposition
The three World Trade Organization ambassadors who act as facilitators in the selection process for the next leader of the international trade institution announced today that in their view Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria had garnered the widest support. At an informal Heads of Delegation meeting today, the assessment made by …
WTO Corner: EU decision on WTO DG, intellectual property, SDGs, TFA
A selection of new developments at the WTO. EU delays decision on WTO director-general EU member states were supposed to decide today which of the two finalists for the WTO’s top job they would back. But the relevant TPC meeting in Brussels was postponed for another day, to let member …
