The European Parliament is moving to endorse a 2011 EU Uzbekistan textiles agreement it had previously rejected. Uzbekistan came under fire for engaging in child labour and forced labour in its cotton and fabrics industry. But reported progress on that front and an EU desire to deepen its footprint in Central Asia have contributed …
Agriculture
Top EU farm group calls for conclusion of CETA, TTIP, EU Japan FTA
The EU’s biggest farm group Copa Cogeca is getting nervous about the prospects of key proposed EU trade agreements: CETA, TTIP and the EU-Japan FTA. “We need to find more new export outlets so that we are not totally dependent on the Chinese market”, Martin Merrild, the president of Copa …
Malmström asks Council to fast-forward Ecuador FTA decision
Commissioner Malmström is trying to accelerate the ratification of Ecuador’s planned accession to the 2012 free trade agreement between the EU and Peru and Colombia by asking the member states to fast track their decision. The move was made ahead of a visit to Brussels by Ecuador’s Vice President Jorge Glas and its Minister of Foreign Trade of Ecuador Juan Carlos …
CJEU: Advocate General slams 2015 Morocco trade agreement ruling
The EU Council has increased its chances to win an appeal against a ruling by the General Court in December 2015 that invalidated a 2012 EU trade agreement with Morocco because it purportedly did not take into account human rights considerations in the territory of Western Sahara. The Advocate General’s opinion released today …
Oranges and sugar concerns put EU Southern Africa trade deal ratification at risk
Orange grove in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa.
Spanish and French MEPs on collision course with Commission over Ecuador banana stabilization mechanism
Bananas only interest a minority of trade aficionados. And Latin American bananas even less. But these tend to be the source of major international legal and political conflicts involving the EU. That was the case in the WTO in the 1990s and 2000s when Central Americans and Ecuador sued the EU, …
EU agri-food sector alarmed by Brexit decision
Will New Zealanders and Aussies obtain better access to the British market than French wine producers in a few year’s time if Britain seals its own deals with these countries? Or will the absence of the powerful spirits lobby in Brussels weaken Brussels’ hand in future trade negotiations in emerging …
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 …
EU agriculture export surplus continues to grow
Freshly released Commission data on EU agricultural trade show that food exports continue to grow, though there appears to be a reorientation of exports away from previously fast-growing emerging markets (Russia, Brazil) to advanced economies. Despite its economic slowdown, China continues to increasingly import food products from the EU. In …
How the EU liberalises agriculture in its latest FTAs
Our new Monthy Brief EU FTA tariff schedules – trends in agriculture and food is out. ****
