News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Saturday, April 26, 2025
Trade ministers from the world’s top 20 economies will gather today in the coastal Argentine town of Mar del Plata to discuss issues such as e-commerce and inclusive global value chains in the agricultural sector. But there can be little doubt that the $500 billion firestorm brewing between the US …
The European Parliament adopted a new resolution on EU-China relations. China is a divisive topic in the European Union. Yet the report, adopted in a comparatively smooth process with a strong majority of 530 MEPs, can be said to reflect a consensus view of the bloc’s political establishment on the …
Italy’s new coalition government is pushing a protectionist agenda that puts national sovereignty at the centre and may well set the country on a collision course with Brussels, Berlin and Paris, argues Nicola Casarini. The new government in Rome is promoting ‘Italy First’, a set of policies that may undermine …
Washington has hit back at five World Trade Organization members for “illegal” tariffs that were imposed on US products in response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply duties on foreign steel and aluminium. The US announcement today that it had filed five complaints targeting the EU, China, Canada, Mexico and …
This is probably a knock-on effect of the United States administration’s recent international policies ranging from Iran to climate change and trade: the EU and China managed for the first time in three years to release a joint statement after their summer annual summit. The 13-page document details areas – …
The EU is stepping up the pace in bringing forward a World Trade Organization reform agenda announced this spring as the crisis over Appellate Body nominations deepens in Geneva and the world entered the turbulent waters of tit-for-tat trade retaliation in the aftermath of the US decision to impose unilateral …
This is a week of summits and negotiations: the EU will start talks with New Zealand, continue discussions with Mercosur and hold high-level meetings with China and Japan (delayed from last week). And toward the end of the week, when the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body meets, we might …
The next two weeks are notable for all the rounds of trade negotiations: the EU will hold talks with China and Indonesia this week and then with Mercosur and New Zealand next week. In between, EU and Japanese officials will sign their economic partnership and strategic partnership agreements. But perhaps …
US tariffs on Chinese goods kicked in today. So did Chinese duties on US products. Chalk up at least another two trade restrictions that will be added to the World Trade Organization’s next semi-annual listing of barriers erected by Group of 20 economies. Earlier this week, the WTO issued …
European companies exported an additional €4.8 billion in goods and services last year thanks to the removal of a record number of trade barriers, the European Commission says. But EU exporters noted a dramatic increase in protectionism in 2017, as trade partners including China, Russia and South Africa created more …
