In an interview with Borderlex, the Energy Charter Treaty’s secretary-general Urban Rusnák said: “In one or two years I expect to have a new Energy Charter Treaty as complement to the Paris climate agreement.“
EU Climate, Environment, Labour, Human Rights
Week in Brussels + Geneva: MPIA, cigarettes, carbon border tax, Chile
Australia’s plain packaging rules okayed by Appellate Body A brief note on the fact that the Appellate Body, as expected, upheld a panel ruling that confirmed Australia’s right to impose plain packaging – i.e. remove branding – on cigarette packs. This week’s ruling will have systemic implications also for food …
Week in Brussels: WTO, human rights due diligence, Korea thermal paper, document transparency
The trade week in the EU was significant, with new orientiations for policy spelt out as part of the bloc’s post-corona recovery plan. WTO: But the week in not entirely over as members of the WTO General Council meet today and next Tuesday online to confer about the next steps …
Going with the flow: the Franco-Dutch paper on sustainability and trade
Trade media have been abuzz this week with a new paper that is being circulated by the French and Dutch government on how they want to see labour and environment issues addressed in the European Union’s trade policy. The frenzy has been centered around the fact that the Netherlands and …
Vietnam FTA: Netherlands calls for labour dispute settlement, COVID-19 delays
It should have been a formality. The EU Vietnam free trade agreement was due to be adopted at a meeting of trade ministers that was cancelled last week. This move followed on a decision by the Council not to hold ‘non essential’ Council meetings in Brussels in order to contain …
Business split as EU ponders border carbon adjustments
This week saw major announcements from the European Union on its plans on climate and tax for the coming years. These announcements, combined with continued uncertainties about transatlantic trade relationships, the UK’s exit from the EU, and the fallout from the corona virus epidemic, contributed to a truly febrile atmosphere …
In brief: Commission seeks input on three border carbon adjustment options
The European Commission is planning to set a climate neutrality goal by 2050 into law. It hopes to get approval by the Council and the European Parliament for sweeping powers to mandate appropriate measures to get there. The central plank of a package of new climate measures announced today is …
Week in Brussels: Movement on Mexico, Korea labour dispute, Uzbekistan
It’s been a pretty packed week. Here other low-key but important developments in EU trade policy. EU Mexico FTA stirrings The EU and Mexico had concluded negotiations towards the modernisation of a twenty year old free trade agreement in April 2018. But that agreement ‘in principle’ left the parties with …
Cambodian footwear, apparel, sugar face EU duty free status suspension
The European Commission has circulated initial proposals to an ‘expert group’ on the extent of suspensions of duty-free-quota-free export rights it currently grants to Cambodia. Apparel, footwear, travel goods and sugar from the fast-growing South East Asian country are among the products that will face the reintroduction of duties and …
Week in Brussels: See you in Davos for e-commerce, Habemus Korea panel, China
E-commerce negotiators gear up for intense first half of 2020 After a stock-taking meeting in Geneva early this week, negotiators involved in the plurilateral negotiations on e-commerce decided there would be a ministerial meeting on the talks in January 2020 at the annual global elite meeting in Davos. The Davos …
