News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Friday, April 25, 2025
The European Union doesn’t have the right institutions to deal with the crises it has been facing ever since the 2008 financial crisis. Whether it can withstand the next big storm coming with Donald Trump’s second term in the Oval Office remains to be seen. Consistent rule-enforcement and intelligent deal …
Perhaps the most exciting aspect of the recently concluded EU Mercosur association agreement is simply that it involves a trade agreement among economic giants. In other words: it’s not the most exciting of trade agreements. There is a lot of novelty, however. But it lies not in the trade concessions …
One can say we find ourselves in a “phony trade war”. While everyone waits for the action to start on the transatlantic trade beat since Donald Trump won the race to the White House for a second time last week, here’s some impressions I’ve been gathering of what people think …
US Senator Chris Murphy published a piece in the Financial Times today arguing that the US must continue on its path of retreating from the recently concluded e-commerce agreement at the World Trade Organization, which Washington stopped supporting. This is a good moment to set the record straight on this …
In less than two weeks the commissioners in-waiting nominated by president Ursula von der Leyen will start being heard by members of the European Parliament in view of their confirmation votes next month. Based on the various statements sent to committees ahead of the hearings, there is one major change …
Soon, both Indonesia and the European Union will find themselves under new and renewed administrations. This is a good moment to revive the momentum for ongoing bilateral trade agreement negotiations.
The big news for trade policy in the region is Indonesia’s decision to apply for the CPTPP, joining a long queue of applicants. The United Arab Emirates’ trailblazing deal-making in recent years has reached a new high, with agreements with Australia and New Zealand just concluded, and new negotiations launched …
A Green Deal turned industrial policy in the name of security. A ‘geopolitical Commission’ entrenched. The centre-right in the driving seat but the far right in the passenger seat. These are the three trends one can see emerging from the yet-to-be confirmed new European Commission team under a second Ursula …
Our Asia Trade column resumes this week, tracking trade deals that key Asia-Pacific players clinch across the world in a time of heightened geopolitical competition. This week’s column highlights key developments in a quiet August: China and Belarus inked a services agreement, and Korea and Paraguay signed an MOU on …
This week in the Asia-Pacific: Korea and Thailand are negotiating their own bilateral trade accord.
