Negotiators on both sides of the Atlantic have clearly given up on the idea of concluding TTIP talks this year, despite progress achieved on the technical aspects of the negotiations.
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
CETA: draft declaration hints at “effectively enforceable” labour and environment provisions in early revision
The German Social-Democrats were promised a declaration by trade commissioner Malmström and trade minister Freeland ahead of a coming Council meeting that aims to give the green light to the signature and ratification of CETA later this month. They are getting it. And it does not quite satisfy the demands made by Bernd …
Trade remedies among top topics on table in EU Indonesia agreement kick-off talks
At a time when EU antidumping methodologies face repeated setbacks either in the WTO or in the Court of Justice of the EU – as highlighted with the latest Appellate Body report on EU duties on Argentinean biofuels – trade remedies have featured highly in the two-day meetings held between the …
INTA Chair Lange worries China MES deadline will be missed
In a letter to Commissioner Malmström, the head of the European Parliament’s trade committee expressed concerns the EU was running late in tabling legislative proposals to ensure it in compliance with its WTO obligations ahead of a December 2016 deadline to grant China market economy treatment in its antidumping legislation. …
Singapore BIT terminations under question in Court of Justice case on EUSFTA
A detailed report on the EU Law Analysis blog of the first hearing in the Court of Justice of the EU ahead of an eagerly anticipated legal opinion regarding the scope of the EU’s exclusive competence to conclude its 2013 free trade agreement with Singapore reveals that member state bilateral …
EU Japan FTA – window for conclusion seen in early 2017
EU and Japanese trade negotiators have spent a week in Brussels trying to make progress on the planned EU Japan free trade agreement. Political leaders on both sides have said they want to conclude negotiations in 2016. Though there are clearly stirrings in negotiations that had gone into a slumber in late 2015, there …
Modest extra market openings offered to Ukraine
Ukraine received no concrete answer on the prospects for its trade agreement with the EU, given the uncertainty over the Netherlands ratifying their Association Agreement, during a visit by Cecilia Malmström to Kyiv on Friday (30 September 2016). But Ukraine received a few goodies to keep it happy: further market openings for its exporters …
WTO Colombia spirits case: EU pushes ahead with dispute panel
Colombia’s tax regime and local monopolies for alcohol sales will be on trial at the World Trade Organization. Despite a free trade agreement in place since 2013, EU – and in particular British – spirits producers are not satisfied with the competitive environment made for them in the South …
EU-Russia WTO cases: where we stand
Parliament readies to okay Ecuador accession to FTA with Colombia and Peru
The trade committee of the European Parliament is getting ready to greenlight Ecuador’s accession to a 2012 free trade agreement in force between the EU on the one hand and Colombia and Peru on the other. Ecuador’s accession process to the deal, initiated in 2014, dragged on as further negotiations with Peru and …
