The business association Digital Europe is trying to fight against rising protectionism in the information technology sector in Turkey. In a new report released on Friday (17 June), the business group calls for a speedup of current attempts to launch negotiations to modernise the 1995 EU Turkey customs union. The …
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
Green taxes, colour-blind trade rules
It’s not TTIP that will constrain our environmental rule-making. The WTO does that already. By Hosuk Lee Makiyama. Trade rules and environmental protection have always been uneasy bedfellows. And like much of the broader trade debate in Europe these days, TTIP is the …
TTIP: rules of origin – EU textiles worry about potential changes to “list rules”
One of the most complex issues to resolve in the TTIP negotiations is what type of rules to apply for products to qualify for duty-free treatment – the so-called rules or origin (ROOs) – under the deal. EU and US free trade agreements use quite different ROO systems in their …
Calenda expounds TTIP to Italian parliament
In a speech to the Italian house of representatives, the minister of economy Carlo Calenda explained today (16 June) the ins and outs of TTIP, and took on some of the criticisms of the negotiating process, while also offering some interesting updates on the state of negotiations in specific agri-food …
Jean Claude Juncker in Russia: tough talking – but talking
The president of the EU Commission took a controversial decision to accept to give a keynote speech at the annual St Petersburg Economic Forum today (16 June 2016). The speech he delivered today there sent two types of messages: to EU audiences, that there is a need to “talk with …
Iran: US sanctions seen as obstacle to trade and WTO accession
The Parliament is preparing to debate Iran in the next Plenary session on 22 June. MEPs Marietje Schaake and Bernd Lange have prepared an Oral Question, expressing worry about barriers to EU business from continued US sanctions on the Middle Eastern country. In October 2015, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of …
INTA: Left-right divide over SADC Economic Partnership Agreement
There is a clear left-right divide over the Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and six Southern African countries signed last week in Botswana. In a debate on the deal in the European Parliament on 15 June, Alexander Lambsdorff (ALDE, Germany) said the EPA was “a successful agreement”. Lambsdorff hailed …
CETA: Dutch MPs call on Commission to wait for Singapore CJEU verdict before applying Canadian deal provisionally
Members of the upper and lower house of the Dutch parliament have called on the Commission to wait for the verdict of the Court of Justice of the EU before applying CETA ‘”provisionally” and to clarify the notion of what timeframe the notion of “provisional” entails. CETA, the EU …
Is it technically possible to conclude TTIP in 2016 ?
The US administration and many EU leaders want to finish TTIP negotiations in 2016. A detailed look at the state of play in the talks indicates that despite substantial recent progress in the negotiations, TTIP is not ripe for conclusion this year. By Iana Dreyer.
New Monthly Brief: Can TTIP be concluded in 2016? Evidence from the negotiation process
Borderlex PRO just published its latest : Monthly Brief Can TTIP be concluded in 2016? Evidence from the negotiation process On 27 May 2016, G7 leaders pledged to conclude Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations in 2016. This brief takes a plunge into the complex TTIP negotiation process that …
