News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Sunday, April 27, 2025
It took Indonesia a long time to move from threat to action: but now we have the complaint filed by Jakarta against the European Union’s REDII directive in its relation to imported biofuels. The Indonesian complaint also targets France’s tax exemptions for biofuels – which do not cover biodiesel based …
This article was prepared with input from Chris Horseman. It is haping up to be a good Christmas for USTR Robert Lighthizer. But this means it won’t be a good Christmas for the European Union. United States relations in focus Over the last few days, the United States and China …
It’s been en eventful week, with the Appellate Body disappearing and the English (and Welsh) voting to “get Brexit done”. Here are other bits of news of potential interest for EU trade. Council Conclusions: green trade ok but at low cost and with level playing field Heads of government are …
It’s been an eventful week on trade – with a deepening WTO crisis, some movement on agriculture, continued uncertainty over the EU Vietnam FTA ratification…. New low in WTO and transatlantic trade relations This week has provided fodder for around-the-clock quotation-chasing media as developments shifted by the day, if not …
The arrest of a Saigon-based trade agreement critic and independent journalist complicates the European Parliament’s final preparations to ratify a landmark trade agrement and an accompanying investment protection accord with Vietnam.
All good things happen on a Friday afternoon when everyone wants to head off into the week-end: the EU just released its offer to the United States towards the conformity assessment agreement they are currently negotiating. If you were wondering what to read over the week-end, here it is! High …
It was a low-key gathering of trade ministers in chilly Brussels today. A good moment to gauge the ‘temperature’ on all things trade amongst EU governments. Today should have been the inaugural ministerial gathering for Phil Hogan, the nominated successor to Cecilia Malmström, who led the EU trade portfolio during …
The European Commission is handling a major file related to upholding international democracy norms in Cambodia through trade policy in a rather secretive fashion. Is it really following the rules in doing so? The Cambodian government has one month to respond to calls from the European Union to give opposition …
This will be less a week of action on trade in the EU than a week of deadlines. Watch out for a possible first ever decision in the EU to recommend suspending Everything-But-Arms trade preferences following months of wrangling with Cambodia’s ruler Hun Sen. US auto tariff deadline The main …
This week China hosted a small ministerial conference with around thirty members of the World Trade Organization in Shanghai. Little has been reported about this low-key meeting. But it appears to have brought some movement in specific WTO files. The gathering in Shanghai offered the opportunity for the EU to …
