France

Canada and CETA EU Climate, Environment, Labour, Human Rights France

France’s expert commission’s ten CETA commandments

The expert commission on CETA set up by the French government to assess the agreement’s impact on EU environmental and health effects published its report on Friday (8 September 2016). It makes ten recommendations for further action on the EU Canada trade agreement. Follow-up moves by the French government will …

Canada and CETA France Internal EU politics

French constitutional decision removes further obstacle to CETA ratification

Sneaky. But unsurprising.   France’s constitutional council delivered its verdict on the EU Canada CETA free trade agreement in the depths of summer. On the very last day of July 2017, France’s so-called ‘wise men’ disclosed that they had strictly no objections to the controversial trade deal which more than …

France Germany Investment liberalisation agreements Miscellaneous EU trade files

Import licences for antiquities, Berlin Paris investment axis

Today we will be brief…..   Antique goods import licences to fight ISIS   The Commission announced the launch of a new regulation that would require import licences for “archeological objects, part of monuments that have been dismembered and for rare manuscripts and incunabula” that are more than 250 years …

Defensive trade policy France Germany United States

US Section 232 : French, German, UK steel most at risk in Europe

 A new study released by the Washington-based Peterson Institute reveals that German, British and French steel exports are likely to be hit most by new trade retaliatory measures initiated and envisaged by the Donald Trump administration since it took office in January 2017.   The US has initiated various antidumping measures …

Defensive trade policy France Internal EU politics

Merkel says ready to talk with Macron on “reciprocity” in trade

Emmanuel Macron, France’s freshly inaugurated President, met Germany’s Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin today. Germans wonder whether he is making the EU more protectionist. But Merkel welcomes his insistence on demanding greater reciprocity in market openings from European trading partners.   Quizzed by the press about his plans to introduce a Buy European Act …

France United States

Blog: France, Ireland and Italy feature alongside Germany in Navarro trade deficit discourse

The mainstream media have mostly picked upon Peter Navarro’s comments on Germany’s trade surplus with the United States during his speech at the National Association of Business Economics on Monday (6 March 2017). But other European countries should pay closer attention to what he says too.   The White House …