A country known for being a poster child of free market economics and open trade is questioning its model amidst social disquiet at home and challenging geopolitics abroad. Iana Dreyer shares her insights into the trade policy of a resource-rich South American country with which the EU has upgraded an …
In-depth briefings
WTO: End of MFN and the fizzling out of international trade justice
A reality check on the World Trade Organization after a week spent in and around Geneva. Warning: it’s a long read.
Analysis – The EU-US Trade and Tech Council as the new ‘friend-shoring’ vehicle
The EU US Trade and Technology Council has somewhat fallen off global headlines amid the war in Ukraine and the related fallout for the global economy, global supply chains and global politics. But despite its structural weaknesses as a forum to deepen economic ties across the Atlantic, it is defying …
Beyond Brussels: WTO complaints against US duties are similar, but not the same
So far, six World Trade Organization members have lodged complaints challenging President Donald Trump’s assertion that tariffs on steel and aluminium are needed to protect US national security. They are broadly similar, but hardly identical, and some of the differences are quite noteworthy. More members have ganged together in …
Blog: EU-Mexico agreement – key elements
The European Commission has released an 18-page document on the EU-Mexico free trade deal that was concluded over the weekend. Here are the distilled contents of the modernisation exercise, with yours truly’s knee-jerk reactions and annotations. Negotiators will work over the coming months on a final pact ready to …
Technical briefing: EU Commission offers glimpse of ‘hard’ Brexit
Be prepared to run away from Britain, and to run fast. That is, in short, the message the European Commission is sending to non-EU exporters and to UK exporters as part of its ‘Brexit preparedness’ activities with businesses representatives. The commission has been issuing a long list of notices to …
EU Japan EPA text analysis – Easy on the ambition?
The European Commission published the bulk of the text of the EU Japan Economic Partnership Agreement in early December last year. Below some highlights of the pact and some comments – result of your truly’s Christmas break reading. The deal favours significantly EU exporters and is relatively unambitious in services.
Deep dive: The beef in the EU Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
A first piece of commentary on the deal that was agreed today in Brussels.
In depth: Where we are in the intra-EU BIT saga
The silent turf war between the EU Commission and intra-EU investor-state arbitral tribunals and member states that back the bilateral investment treates – BITs – that underpin them is continuing. But resolution of the conflict will likely need to wait until 2018. A Borderlex long-read.
In-depth: How TiSA is shaping up
This new Borderlex in-depth report offers an overview of where TiSA appears to be heading less than two months ahead of the trade in services negotiations’ expected conclusion. For PRO subscribers only.