News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Friday, April 25, 2025
With input from Sarah Anne Aarup. This week we saw an EU-China summit deliver some progress on the lengthy path towards a bilateral investment agreement. It also revealed that rules-based international trade is Chefsache in the Commission, with president von der Leyen dwelling extensively on the matter in her State …
After an extended summer break, our Week in Brussels column is back in action to wrap up busy weeks in European Union trade. This week : EU-UK, Angola joining the EU SADC EPA and the good COVID-19 crisis for some EU agrifood exports.
This has been very intense last week of July on WTO issues – be it agriculture, or the quest for a new leadership in the organisation. On Friday, WTO members agreed to follow General Council head David Walker’s recommendations on how the new WTO director-general will be selected after 7 …
In many ways this has been a week full of trade defence news: the first European Court of Auditors report on EU trade defence policy was released this week, and Turkey decided to go to court in Geneva over the EU’s steel safeguard. There is also the ever-simmering tariff guerilla …
This has been a heavy-duty week in EU trade, with the transatlantic relationship thrown in disarray by the new Court of Justice of the EU’s ruling on the EU-US Privacy Shield. Also the EU and India genuinely want to move on and established a High Level Dialogue. The European Commission …
Carbon border adjustment – Lange prefers ETS extension The German chemical industry association VCI held a webinar this week on trade policy and climate change. International trade committee chair Bernd Lange was a speaker. Whether this is an indication of what is to come as the EU prepares to prepare …
It’s been one of those relatively low-key weeks on trade in Brussels – which only prepare the ground for more intense meetings and developments later on. Hogan back in action To start with: Phil Hogan is back! After a ‘purdah’ period imposed on him by his bosses while he was …
With new fire added to the brewing tensions in EU-US trade relations as new tariffs on the EU were announced in Washington, the EU mulling new retaliatory measures against US trade ‘coercion”, and Brussels infighting over the issue of who – if at all – it will put forward as …
Australia’s plain packaging rules okayed by Appellate Body A brief note on the fact that the Appellate Body, as expected, upheld a panel ruling that confirmed Australia’s right to impose plain packaging – i.e. remove branding – on cigarette packs. This week’s ruling will have systemic implications also for food …
This week has been dominated by news and gossip surrounding the nomintion of a successor for the WTO’s outgoing director general. Today, Nigeria announced it was planning to nominate former finance minister and World Bank official Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – a high profile nomination to say the least. The nomination period …
