News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Sunday, April 27, 2025
US President Donald Trump’s decision to study rejoining Trans-Pacific Partnership talks and his suggestion that a trade war with China could be averted if Beijing opened its market to more American goods grabbed the headlines yesterday. But he also had a few things to say – none of them very …
A decision by the EU to slap safeguards on foreign steel would have severe repercussions in Taiwan, whose exports of the alloy to the US are already subject to 25% duties, says Taiwan’s top trade negotiator. Without an exemption from the US tariffs – something Taiwan has tried and failed to …
China is the first country to lodge a legal challenge to US tariffs on steel and aluminium that officials from other World Trade Organization members, including the EU, say violate global trade laws. Beijing says the duties are discriminatory, because the US gave exemptions to some trade partners but not …
With global fears mounting that the US-China trade dispute will escalate into a full-blown trade war, a softer tone from senior officials in both countries this week suggesting that the standoff could be resolved through negotiations came as welcome news around the world. Both sides seemed ready to take a …
The EU and Japan are joining the United States in a World Trade Organization dispute against China’s intellectual property practices. On Wednesday, the EU and Japan filed a request to join consultations – a preliminary phase in a legal dispute – initiated by Washington. Despite facing, as political allies, …
EU leaders will be in the Bulgarian seaside resort of Varna today to meet with Turkish counterparts including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who is hoping to hear some good news about plans to begin technical talks on their bilateral customs union. He’s likely to be disappointed. And US tariffs on goods …
Signals coming from Washington indicate that the EU has been successful in landing an exemption from import tariffs on steel and tariffs asked for by President Donald Trump. According the US administration, these tariffs won’t kick in tomorrow as planned. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer said these measures were a …
Two of the biggest trade issues hanging over the EU will be on various agendas this week: the draft Brexit withdrawal and transition agreement, and the bloc’s ongoing efforts to avoid pending US steel and aluminium tariffs. European leaders are set to accept the draft agreement, but it’s anyone’s guess …
Almost all of the more than 50 World Trade Organization members that India invited to next week’s “mini-ministerial” plan to attend, but the two-day meeting is expected to accomplish little to tackle problems that have dogged the WTO for years. India decided to hold the informal gathering after the …
To avert tariffs on steel and aluminium, the EU might consider developing its own ‘golf course diplomacy’, if one follows the friendly advice of a former US diplomat. The EU is trying to convince the United States to exempt it from planned punitive tariffs on its exports of steel …
