The parliament of Wallonia is hearing the views of Vietnam’s Ambassador to the EU today (1 December 2016). After having been in the limelight as the regional Belgian parliament that almost scuppered the EU Canada CETA deal late October, the Namur-based legislature has stepped up its scrutiny of all free trade …
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
What a Trump presidency could mean for trade policy and the EU – two expert views
We still don’t know exactly what the next US president, Donald Trump, will do on trade policy. Mr Trump has campaigned on a highly protectionist and trade-sceptic platform. He has vowed to raise substantial tariffs on imports from Mexico and from China. He even suggested he might want to pull …
EU Turkey customs union: agriculture and coup aftermath in trade committee limelight
The trade committee of the European Parliament discussed current plans to launch negotiations with Turkey to modernise the existing two-decade old customs union between the EU and its big southern neighbour: the process faces challenges, both political and related to bread-and-butter market access issues. The Commission hopes to table …
In brief: Fresh insights into TTIP state of play
The Commission has published the list of documents related to the TTIP negotiations that it has circulated to the member states and the European Parliament. The move came ahead of a visit by trade commissioner Malmström to Washington on Monday to take stock of TTIP as these are expected to go into …
WTO panel on Chinese export restrictions established
Despite Chinese misgivings, the EU is pressing ahead with its dispute against China’s exports restrictions on a variety of raw materials and metals. China initially refused to establish a dispute settlement panel, arguing its new 2017 export quotas were in line with WTO law and aimed at protecting the environment. …
EU asks for ‘reasonable period of time’ to implement Argentina WTO ruling
The EU was rebuffed by the WTO’s Appellate Body, which upheld a dispute panel ruling stating that the EU’s antidumping duties on imports of biodiesel from Argentina were illegal. The Appellate Body criticised the way the EU calculates and construes input costs for the products under investigation. The matter …
Russia requests establishment of panel on EU antidumping measures
Russia has requested that the WTO establish a dispute settlement panel to settle a dispute it launched in 2015 on antidumping measures in the EU concerning fertilisers and metals products (background here). At stake are the EU’s so-called cost-adjustment methodologies, which have been rebuffed by the WTO in a …
Will the European Parliament’s Turkey accession vote jeopardise the customs union update?
The European Parliament has made sure there is even more bad blood in the EU-Turkey relationship than already is. On Thursday (24 November 2016), 77 percent of MEPs called to a halt to recently re-initiated EU membership accession negotiations as part of a non binding resolution. The accession talks, initiated in 2005, but …
CETA ratification in EU Parliament to face delay
The European Parliament intended to rush through the ratification of the much-contested CETA agreement before Christmas. After having rejected a motion for a resolution by rebel centre-left MEPs to put CETA to scrutiny at the Court of Justice on Wednesday, the hope of a swift ratification faded quickly. There …
Trump world hovers over next steps in EU China investment and trade moves
Germany’s prosperous port city of Hamburg is the host of a German-European-Chinese summit, the Hamburg Summit 2016 this week. The swanky event takes place against a backdrop of rising questions over international stability, US-China relations, and investment frictions in EU-China relations. A city open to China Hamburg is positioning …
