News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Tuesday, April 29, 2025
Insiders don’t believe the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement signed this summer faces a serious risk of being voted down in the European Parliament at the end of the year. But as the assembly enters its last months of functioning, a vocal group of left-of-centre MEPs is making a last big …
Canada and the EU hosted their first CETA Joint Committee meeting. The committee’s role is to oversee the implementation of the trade agreement. In fact, the meeting mainly dealt with demands made on it which are not in the treaty.
It’s been an intense week on transatlantic trade and Brexit trade front. Below, other interesting bits of news in EU trade. EU-Mercosur focus A lot of noise, little extra substance on EU-Mercosur free trade talks this week. Next week, European negotiators will fly to South America for a 36th round …
Russia has lost its central argument in a four-year-old World Trade Organization complaint challenging the EU’s energy market laws: the right of the bloc to prevent a single company from owning both natural gas pipelines and distribution networks. The WTO ruled today that certain energy-supply measures imposed by the EU …
The established European bicycle sector has been rattled by a consumer switch to electric bikes and a surge in imports of both electric and conventional bicycles from China. That might help explain why bicycle producers obtained protection in the form of provisional dumping duties on Chinese e-bikes.
If the EU wants to avoid losing a potential World Trade Organization dispute following its decision to phase out palm and soybean oil-based biofuels, it will need to prove its environmenal criteria are objective. For political reasons, that will be difficult, as this might involve displeasing EU rapeseed and sunflower …
The main obsession in Brussels this week has been the EU-US trade spat. All eyes will be on the Group of Seven meeting in Canada. Mercosur and EU negotiators have been working until the time of writing on narrowing gaps on ‘geographical indications’ protection and Mercosur’s offer on autos (rules of origin …
The European Parliament wants to enact legislation on the screening of foreign takeovers swiftly, before EU institutions shut down in the early months of next year ahead of European elections. This is why the committee on international trade voted for anticipated inter-institutional – or ‘trilogue’ – negotiations with the Council …
It hasn’t been an easy week for the EU. Just as member state leaders felt they might be nearing a deal with US commerce secretary Wilbur Ross that could spare the EU tariffs on steel and aluminium before a temporary exemption expires next week, the Trump administration initiated an …
A ‘deal’ could be materialising between the Washington and Brussels ahead of the 1 June deadline for US tariffs on steel and aluminium to kick in. It is not yet clear whether all EU member states would approve the arrangements, or if it would hold within the US administration. …
