The United Kingdom won’t be blocked from negotiating or renegotiating international trade agreements with third countries during the Brexit transition period, as long as it doesn’t start applying them before the end of that period, EU member states clarified today. Although doing so is the British government’s formal …
Asia
Week in Brussels – Japan first, Mercosur politics, investment screening
In Brussels, there is a lot of movement behind the scenes to try and finalise trade agreements with Mexico, Mercosur and Japan. Investment screening is climbing the policy priority list. The EU lost a case in the World Trade Organization against Indonesia over dumping duties it applies against palm …
EU duties on Indonesian biodiesel break rules, WTO says
European tariffs on Indonesian biodiesel are illegal, the World Trade Organization said today in a ruling that contains the same basic findings as in a similar WTO complaint lodged by Argentina. But the panel went even further, faulting the EU’s profit calculations and finding serious defects with the bloc’s export-price …
Price comparability becomes key focus in China MES dispute at WTO
The legal arguments in Beijing’s World Trade Organization complaint challenging the EU’s refusal to treat China as a market economy in dumping probes should focus on the underlying ability of WTO members to ensure price comparability when dealing with economies where prices are distorted, the US and the EU argue. …
A week in Brussels: GSP report, ISDS scrutiny, EU export boom to China
This week in EU trade was marked by a first substantive round of trade negotiations with Chile, as well as a meeting of the EU Korea trade committee dominated by EU recriminations against Korean beef import restrictions and one of its labour union laws. Otherwise it’s been report and data …
Beyond Brussels: China-US ties, WTO chicken ruling, Indian mini-ministerial, Australian wine, NAFTA
There were plenty of trade stories from around the world this week, including efforts by China’s president to ease strained ties with the US, a request for Washington to probe the security risks of uranium imports, India’s plan to hold a mini-ministerial meeting, Australia’s trade challenge of Canadian measures on …
Beyond Brussels: Canadian WTO challenge, NAFTA, India, Vietnamese STEs, Chinese trade surplus
The year began with a bang in some parts of the world in terms of commerce, including a World Trade Organization complained filed by Canada against US trade-remedy measures that could eventually draw in other WTO members as complainants. Canada challenges ‘America First’ approach at WTO Canada has …
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.
2018 in EU trade: the year in preview
Happy New Year, dear subscribers! The year 2018 will offer a very narrow window of opportunity to bring key EU trade policy files forward. On the EU’s plate this year: finalise trade negotiations with Mexico and Mercosur, get key trade agreements with Singapore, Vietnam and Japan through the European …
Beyond Brussels: e-commerce, NAFTA, TPP, US beef exports, Serbia-EEU, India and ASEAN
It was a relatively quiet week for trade around the world this week as the holidays approach. The Beyond Brussels column will also take a holiday, and return in January. Borderlex wishes all of our subscribers a wonderful holiday season and a healthy and prosperous 2018. E-COMMERCE: Governments are …