G7 nations are meeting in Taormina, Sicily, amidst high political tensions between the US and European countries, in particular Germany. Common ground on trade will be difficult to find. The EU and Japan are trying to advance their own free trade agenda in parallel. The trade tensions with the US are likely to …
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
In brief: New EU US trade task force announced
US president Donald Trump met various EU leaders on Thursday (25 May 2017). A few brief take-aways from the meetings, with a focus on trade: The first aim was primarily for leaders of EU institutions and Donald Trump to meet and know each other and establish a working …
Fifteen EU member states call for progress in data flow text in EU Japan
A group of 15 EU member states has called on the EU Commission to step up efforts to draw up a common position that secures free cross border data flows in free trade agreements. The move comes at a time when the EU is finalising its four year old …
In brief: Sri Lanka gets GSP+ back, Philippines fears losing it
Sri Lanka regained its lost ‘GSP Plus’ status on Friday (19 May 2017). The country lost the preferential market access status in 2010 following government human right abuses in the context of its crackdown on the Tamil Tiger rebellion. Since 2015, the new government under Ranil Wickremesinghe has fought hard …
ECJ says investor-state dispute settlement not exclusive EU remit
The long-awaited ruling of the Court of Justice of the EU on the division of competences between Brussels and the member states on the content of the 2013/2014 free trade agreement with Singapore settles many perpetual power tussles between Brussels and the capitals on a variety of trade-related topics. The …
China’s Belt and Road: EU and Britain ask for share of the pie
China wanted to make the now-closing Belt and Road Forum a major global summit. But only 20 heads of state responded to invitations from Beijing. Western nations mostly sent ministers. It was nonetheless a big bash. OBOR, as the new ‘Silk Road’ initiative is called, is a plan by Beijing …
Updates: Barnier in Ireland, Lightizer, TDI, CETA
The last days have been filled with bits and bobs of information on EU trade worth sharing:
African Caribbean Pacific group fears consequences of EPAs, Brexit
ACP countries met in Brussels this week to discuss ways to better coordinate their coming relationships with the European Union. Signs are the disparate group of 79 countries – all former colonies of EU member states – has found some common ground as a successor agreement to the 2020 Cotonou …
Council agrees on new TDI methodology
Member states have agreed on a new methodology to calculate antidumping duties after almost six months of internal negotiations. The suggested methodology will apply to all trade defence cases in future once adopted. The change to the EU’s basic antidumping regulation follows on plans to do away with a specific methodology – the …
Blog – Chin chin Mercosur
Spain’s Mariano Rajoy is visiting Brazil and Uruguay this week for a trade promotion tour and to talk EU Mercosur free trade. This is a good moment to look into some of the – many – sensitive files in the talks: agriculture and wine and spirits. Latin America is …
