The European Union is reviewing a safeguard it introduced earlier in 2019 to relieve steel producers from inexpensive imports in a market it feared would be flooded by cheap products in the aftermath of the US’s Section 232 steel import restrictions. The measure pits embattled European steel producers against the …
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Week Ahead in EU Trade: China, trading system, G20 and the WTO
This week EU and Chinese negotiators are meeting for a 21st round of talks on the EU-China investment agreement. The two sides have brought discussions forward on market access (national treatment), investment protection and sustainable development. Beijing and Brussels vowed to accelerate their investment negotiations last March – let’s see …
Dual use export control plans revived as cyber climbs up EU priority list
The European Commission and the European Parliament Member states will be relieved that blockages in the Council over the new version of the EU’s dual use product export control regime were overcome this week as member states finally released their mandate for ‘trilogue’ negotiations towards a new regulations in the …
Brexit-by-proxy: EU relationship shapes UK debate on future US trade deal
United States president Donald Trump’s official state visit to the United Kingdom has made headlines this week for all sorts of reasons – but it has, among other things, thrown a sharpened spotlight on the possibility of a UK-US free trade agreement after the Britain leaves the EU. The negotiations …
Long read – Self reliance: the emerging EU trade policy trend in a hostile world
The European Commission no longer seems to trust global norms, fora or rule-making negotiations to uphold its interests in digital, competition, industry and trade policy. In fact many norms hardly exist and won’t likely emerge so quickly. The EU’s executive arm has been rethinking its policy toolkit and is seeking …
Week Ahead in EU trade: G20, US-UK, bilaterals
G20 trade minister’s meeting amidst escalating ‘trade wars’ G20 trade ministers will converge on Japan for a ministerial meeting on trade and the digital economy this week-end – an event hosted in Tsukuba. The aim is to prepare the ground to the big G20 summit later this month. This week’s …
Beyond Brussels: Appellate Body members rebuff Walker process reform proposals
A new fault line is emerging in the crisis of the World Trade Organizations’ dispute settlement system. The European Union, which tabled proposals aimed at strengthening the Appellate Body’s independence – and won over China and India over to its ideas last year – is now facing a coalition of …
Brexit Task Force’s deputy to lead trade department of European Commission
Sabine Weyand is to become next Director General for Trade, replacing the Frenchman Jean-Luc Demarty. Ms Weyand will lead the European Union’s trade bureaucracy after almost three years in a strategic post as deputy to the European Commission’s Article 50 Task force, the team that negotiated a ‘withdrawal agreement’ with …
Comment: Greener or messier EU trade policy going forward?
Will the EU make its trade policy greener in the coming years? If anything, the politics of green trade will become messier, reckons Iana Dreyer.
EU-US : To European leaders voluntary auto export restrictions are taboo
Today’s trade ministers’ meeting was an opportunity to take stock of ongoing European Union-United States files. The gathering took place more than a week after US president Trump postponed imposing duties of up to 25% on imports of autos by six months. The US president however asked for negotiations to …
