News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
The calendar is a bit thin this week, though some news could come out of the two-day European Council meeting about WTO reform and Brexit. And it’s anyone’s guess what we might expect from the US and its unpredictable leader after China’s central bank said yesterday that it would unlock …
It’s been a packed week in Brussels on trade. The EU formally launched trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand. Trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström engaged in a real joyful tweetfest as she travelled Down Under. We interviewed the Australian ambassador to the EU (in case you missed it). The …
Relations between the US and many of its trade partners were bad enough that there was really no need to add fuel on the fire by tossing out fresh incendiary comments. But that’s just what US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross did yesterday by calling for an even “more painful” environment …
This week promises to be busy, with the European Parliament’s trade committee debating a range of issues including EU ties with the US and Latin America, the launch of trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand, and the start of the bloc’s tariffs against US goods to strike back at …
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 …
After the disastrous Group of Seven summit in Canada, the EU will need to find ways to keep calm, focus on saving the WTO’s dispute settlement system and address some of the root causes of its disputes with the US – not least Germany’s current account surplus, argues Iana Dreyer.
Expect plenty of post-Group of Seven summit articles in the aftermath of the two-day meeting that ended in the escalation of a clash over trade and US President Donald Trump’s refusal to endorse a communique. Closer to home, the focus will be on meetings of the Council, the Trade Policy …
The main obsession in Brussels this week has been the EU-US trade spat. All eyes will be on the Group of Seven meeting in Canada. Mercosur and EU negotiators have been working until the time of writing on narrowing gaps on ‘geographical indications’ protection and Mercosur’s offer on autos (rules of origin …
The first day of this weekend’s Group of Seven summit is set to turn into the Group of Six vs One, if recent Twitter exchanges are anything to go by. The one, in this case, as US President Donald Trump, who has already announced that he’ll skip tomorrow’s sessions on …
There’s only one big event on the Brussels trade agenda this week – another negotiating round with Mercosur – but that doesn’t mean the coming days will be quiet. Between the start of US tariffs on European steel and aluminium, the EU’s decision to respond with a World Trade Organization …
