The standards of investment protection in the European Union (EU) have been lowered at a time when the bloc badly needs private and foreign direct investment, argues Nikos Lavranos in a piece of commentary on the state of investment law on the continent. But the EU can turn the tide …
Commentary – all
Comment: EU-China trade and investment files – another five years of impasse?
In a speech to the Brussels business community, Cecilia Malmström set out the European Commission’s approach to China. The trade commissioner’s talk indicates there will likely not be much change in the way Brussels deals with the giant Asian country. European businesses wanting the EU to open more markets in China for them might …
Comment – The World Trade Organization: an Indian Summer?
[sh_light_text ]With the recent adoption of the Trade Facilitation Agreeement, the World Trade Organization (WTO) has had a few very good weeks. Yet there is still a lot of work ahead to retake lost ground.[/sh_light_text]
Comment: Moldova after DCFTA ratification: watch the gas trade, the banks, and, yes, look out for tanks
All eyes are on the Ukraine crisis these days. Today, EU leaders are preparing to issue a new list of individuals active in the breakaway regions of Donbass who will be barred from entering the EU and whose assets will be frozen. But what about Moldova? Without a more thorough strategy to strengthen the …
Comment: Trade defence activity up again in EU?
Preliminary data released by the European Union’s (EU) commission in Brussels on Friday covering its trade defence activity reveal that its case load could be trending up again. Eleven new anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigations were launched in the first ten months of 2014.
Comment: G20 and protectionism: What’s there to (really) worry about?
[sh_light_text ]Has G20 protectionism been talked up too much? The latest World Trade Organization (WTO) report, published jointly with the OECD, on trade restrictive measures in the G20 group of leading industrial economies and emerging markets, reveals that protectionism has not significantly been on the rise. Yet there are ‘murky’ areas of …
Comment: Malmström nomination signals desire for continuity – but continuity isn’t necessarily desirable
Photo credit: European Parliament Cecilia Malmström’s nomination hearing in the European Parliament yesterday and the vote in her favour by the body’s trade committee today signal that both the European Commission and the Parliament prefer continuity over a rethink of European trade policy, opines Borderlex’s editor Iana Dreyer.
Comment: Not going ballistic – Why Russia won’t start a trade war with Ukraine this time round
[sh_light_text ]High-level officials from the European Union (EU), Ukraine and Russia are holding a ‘trilateral’ meeting in Brussels today. They plan to address Russia’s commercial concerns about the impact the free trade deal (DCFTA) Brussels and Kiev signed in late June might have on its trade with Ukraine. Ukraine and …
Editor’s Comments – Renewable energy, EU antidumping & the end of a ‘green bubble’
Over the last decade, the EU’s decisions to impose antidumping duties have mainly benefited Europe’s metals and chemical sectors. A good third of the antidumping duties imposed target Chinese exports. But now, renewables are the new kid on the bloc and they don’t only target China. It’s all a tale …
Editor’s Comment: TTIP and Europe’s energy question
[sh_light_text ]Energy trade has become an important topic of discussion around the ongoing Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations. The crisis in Ukraine, Europe’s own energy crisis, and the US shale revolution have given the issue particular salience. Although TTIP can contribute to improving the EU’s energy challenges, it will certainly …
