News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Sunday, April 27, 2025
The European Commission released a widely anticipated ‘delegated act’ in which, for the first time in the scheme’s almost fifteen-year history, suspends free trade rights for one of the poorest countries in the world. About 20% of Cambodian exports to the EU are covered by the planned preference withdrawal measures. …
It’s been a week full of hoo haa around EU US agriculture trade. The EU put a bit of antidumping into its digital strategy. The European Parliament ratified the EU-UK withdrawal agreement on Wednesday and offered a moving good-bye ceremony to Britons. In London, Union Jack flags are being waved …
It’s been a pretty packed week. Here other low-key but important developments in EU trade policy. EU Mexico FTA stirrings The EU and Mexico had concluded negotiations towards the modernisation of a twenty year old free trade agreement in April 2018. But that agreement ‘in principle’ left the parties with …
The target set to China to increase its imports in a series of products by a value of US$ 200 billion in the next two years set in the so-called Phase One agreement between Washington and Beijing clinched last week will lead to China diverting imports and purchases from other …
The European Commission has circulated initial proposals to an ‘expert group’ on the extent of suspensions of duty-free-quota-free export rights it currently grants to Cambodia. Apparel, footwear, travel goods and sugar from the fast-growing South East Asian country are among the products that will face the reintroduction of duties and …
At a gathering hosted by the largest umbrella group for European business in Monday in Brussels, the EU’s trade commissioner was given a first opportunity to talk about EU-China relations and to debrief on his first official trip to Washington last week. The EU and China are currently intensely working …
With input from Chris Horseman. The week in EU trade was dominated by preparations for trade agreement negotiations with Britain next month and Phil Hogan’s delicate trip to the United States. Hogan’s tweets mention meetings with members of Congress and the Senate and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross. The ‘big’ meeting …
With the United States failing to deliver changes to Chinese subsidies and state-owned enterprise practices in the small trade ‘deal’ it is about to sign with Beijing, Washington appears keener to cooperate with other countries to address more ‘structural’ issues with the Asian behemoth. The EU and US are also …
This week was mainly about the EU getting back into business mode. The main focus has been on preparing the ground for trade negotiations starting next month with the United Kingdom and managing transatlantic relations. More below. Commissioner Breton toys with idea of a data localisation obligations for business data …
E-commerce negotiators gear up for intense first half of 2020 After a stock-taking meeting in Geneva early this week, negotiators involved in the plurilateral negotiations on e-commerce decided there would be a ministerial meeting on the talks in January 2020 at the annual global elite meeting in Davos. The Davos …
