From Brexit to trade defence, an overview of the trade policy churn in the EU this week. Brexit transition The beginning of week in Brussels will be dominated by the whole Brexit affair. European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker will meet British Prime Minister Theresa May, her number …
SSAfrica
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 …
Mexico and Uganda alcoholic beverages laws in EU limelight
The EU is looking after its alcoholic beverages industry in the WTO, the latest WTO meeting on technical barriers to trade reveals. The Commission is putting pressure on Colombia with a pending case on its domestic laws on alcoholic beverage marketing arrangements and taxes. Is it now setting its sights on Mexico and …
Parliament greenlights EU SADC agreement
The European Parliament agreed to the EU’s Economic Partnership Agreement with the Southern African Development Community. The region-to-region trade deal was adopted in June 2016, after more than a decade of negotiations. The EPA introduces reciprocal preferential market access between the EU on the one hand, and Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, and South …
Oranges and sugar concerns put EU Southern Africa trade deal ratification at risk
Orange grove in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Kenya and Rwanda save their trade preferences with EU by signing EAC EPA ahead of others
Kenya, Rwanda and the EU have signed a EU-East African Community EPA trade pact on Thursday (1 September 2016) in Brussels. The Eastern African countries are in a move to salvage their trade preferences to the EU. Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary Adan Mohamed and Rwandan Minister for Trade François Kanimba did the trip to Brussels to …
East African Community EPA signature delayed
The East African Community Economic Partnership Agreement will not be signed, as initially planned, this week in Nairobi on the sidelines of the Nairobi investment summit hosted by UNCTAD. The EPA was concluded in 2015. The EU member states have endorsed the deal in June 2016, so has the …
Parliament report: EU trade deals increase money laundering risk
A new research report commissioned by the European Parliament argues that free trade agreements increase the risk of money laundering. The report, Commissioned after the Panama Papers affair this spring, says that EU free trade agreements with emerging markets such as South Africa, Chile, Mexico, Central America, or South Korea …
Reports: Tanzania backs out of EU EAC deal over Brexit
In brief: Rwanda’s New Times reports that Tanzania has decided to pull out of the EU East African Community deal. The agreement was slated for signature on 18 July. More to follow.
In brief – Greek MEP up in arms against EU SADC compromise on feta cheese denomination
Stelios Kolouglou (GUE/NGL) has staged an offensive against the EU Southern African Development Community EPA signed early June in Botswana. In amendments to a motion for a resolution currently under preparation by the Parliament’s trade committee, Mr Kolouglou, along with the Italian MEP Eleonora Forenza, have decided to “decline …
