If you believed the fate of the EU’s biodiesel antidumping duties was sealed after the WTO appellate body’s ruling on a case brought by Argentina and a European Court of Justice ruling annulling these measures in the autumn 2016, stand corrected. The saga goes on. This week, Indonesia filed a complaint in …
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
WTO panel backs China in chicken quota dispute with the EU
The WTO’s dispute settlement panel has broadly endorsed a claim brought against the EU by China regarding a tariff rate quota extension for chicken. In 2012, the EU extended its WTO quotas to Thailand and Brazil, two major exporters of poultry. China, whose exports to the EU had increased significantly …
EU farm groups call for more controls on Brazilian beef
Update Friday 24 March 2017: the EU has asked Brazil to suspend its beef shipments voluntarily, to avoid having to impose a bigger import ban. Brazil has refused. EU meat producers are calling for more controls on imports of Brazilian beef amidst a local meat scandal, and for caution …
In brief: French constitutional court postpones CETA decision
France’s constitutional council has decided to postpone its decision on the compatibility of the EU Canadian trade pact CETA with the French constitution. France’s court was seized one month ago by more than 100 French MPs, with the legal support of three NGOs: Foodwatch Europe, the Institut Veblen and the …
EPP weighs into EU debate on FDI screening
MEPs from the main centre-right group EPP are preparing a motion that would call on the EU Commission to introduce screening of foreign direct controls. The proposal is being circulated by MEP heavyweights Manfred Weber, Daniel Caspary, Tokia Saifi, Iuliu Winkler, Slavatore Cicu, Frank Proust, Godelieve Quisthoudt-Rowohl, Viviane Reding, Andreas …
EU and Japan pledge to finalise trade deal – step up data cooperation
The EU and Japan are trying to finalise their almost four year old free trade agreement negotiations. Both sides had hoped to do so in late 2016 but have found it difficult to bridge final gaps. A visit by Japan’s Prime Minister in Brussels is expected to give a final …
Opinion: The pitfalls of pushing for TTIP in 2017
Iana Dreyer on why pursuing TTIP this year is not in the EU’s best interest.
EU Commission mulls options to bloc politically motivated investments
Details of Commission plans to potentially screen and bloc foreign direct investments that are “politically motivated” have started leaking. The plans were initiated shortly after Germany blocked the acquisition of a German firm Aixtron by a Chinese state-owned company in late 2016, following a request by Berlin, Paris and Rome. The plans consider the …
Japan rules out early 2017 conclusion of EU FTA
Japan is not yet ready to open duty-free quotas on imports of dairy to the EU, nor is it happy with what it has gathered of the EU’s e-commerce chapter plans related to digital data flows. One week ahead of a bilateral meeting between the leadership in Brussels and …
EU and ASEAN in attempt to relaunch region to region trade deal
The EU and the South East Asian bloc ASEAN have agreed in principle to try to re-launch talks towards a region-to-region trade agreement at a trade ministers’ meeting in Manila on Friday (10 March 2017). “The participants of today’s ministerial meeting will now task their senior officials to work out the …
