News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Friday, April 25, 2025
Some week-end reading after many developments this week on EU ASEAN trade: Vietnam FTA, trade preference withdrawal for Cambodia, GSP reports on Myanmar and the Philippines, and an EU ASEAN Senior Officials meeting. Commentary by Borderlex editor Iana Dreyer.
This week, World Trade Organization ambassadors met in rue de Lausanne in Geneva for the General Council meeting. It was mainly a meeting to – literally –‘ confront’ views on the state of the organisation and on how to reform it. We partly covered the Appellate Body discussion.
This week’s main focus will be on Brexit, EU-US relations, and China. Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, will also be on the agenda. Brexit and FTA rollovers The House of Commons might vote a third time on Britain’s withdrawal agreement with the EU on Tuesday or Wednesday if prime minister Theresa May …
This week’s special focus has been transatlantic trade negotiations (here and here) and Brexit-related British trade policy (here, here, here). But we also got an update on EU Taiwan relations. Below other noteworthy news or updates. Brazil retaliates against EU steel safeguards We are facing another episode in the global steel trade …
The EU is threatening to suspend imports from Cambodia due to human and labour right violations. But the products under discussion for suspension are precisely those where the EU has a track record of entrenched protectionism. This looks like a clear case of double standards, opines Iana Dreyer.
EU governments are split in the face of proposals by the European Commission to reapply import protections on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar following an import surge from these countries. The two Asian countries, which qualify as least-developed countries, benefit from duty-free imports of rice under the EU’s General System …
The European Commission is mulling safeguard measures against rice from Cambodia and Myanmar, two of Asia’s poorest countries benefiting from the bloc’s Everything-but-Arms trade preferences.
The EU recently initiated steps to remove trade preferences reserved for the world’s poorest countries that were granted to Cambodia and Myanmar. One wonders: is this the right policy course? The policy would lead to the potential laying off of thousands of workers in apparel factories. These have been sprouting …
This week has been heavy on World Trade Organization issues (EU’s WTO reform pitch, services domestic regulation talks, US engagement with WTO reforms), the fallout from the new NAFTA,with bits on what’s happening (not) on Britain’s fabulous post- Brexit trade deals. Member states met in Innsbruck today – and there …
