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.
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
US to increase tariffs on EU products following second Airbus ruling, digital tax plans
United States aims to ‘reset’ transatlantic trade relations ring hollow. The US is moving ahead with further import duties on EU products. It is not interested in an OECD agreement on digital taxation. And it has definitely pulled the plug on the World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body. The EU for …
In brief: WTO panel largely rebuffs EU compliance claims in Airbus case
The European Union was largely rebuffed in a second compliance report it requested regarding subsidies to Airbus today at the World Trade Organization in Geneva. US tariffs introduced against the EU in retaliation for these subsidies are already in place. These tariffs were authorised in October by a WTO arbitrator …
Week in Brussels: Singapore services, Indonesia, trade opinion and the European urban middle class
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 …
FAC Trade roundup – Appellate Body, China, responsible business conduct
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 …
Cambodia EBA withdrawal: Democracy enforcement by administrative fiat?
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 …
Trump trade agenda: a sense of drift
The European Union is still waiting for some form of official announcement on whether the White House will order import duties to be applied to autos and auto parts – or whether it will, as anticipated by most observers on both sides of the Pond – postpone the decision and …
Week ahead in EU Trade: Cambodia EBA suspension, US auto tariff deadline, CETA
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 …
Chinese digital and investment agenda makes headway in the WTO
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 …
Week in Brussels: Processing Solomon Islands and Tonga, Australia, Mr Coherence
It’s a short week in most of the EU with many countries on holidays on Allsaints day on 1 November. This explains why our Week in Brussels column is coming out on Thursday instead of Friday. This week we had news on the end of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties and …
