News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Saturday, April 26, 2025
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 …
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 …
What comes next in the EU-US row over President Donald Trump’s decision to slap import tariffs on steel and aluminium on national security grounds is not entirely clear. Uncertainty is part of the game. Experts familiar with Washington politics tend to think that the US president is in for some …
Anyone with a backlog of work should try to catch up on it this week, as the trade agenda is rather thin and next week is packed. The top news out of Brussels in the next few days may well focus on the Brexit draft guidelines, which are the subject …
US President Donald Trump announced yesterday that his country would apply import tariffs on steel and aluminium of 25% and 10% respectively on national security grounds. The announcement was expected. Trump decided to exempt Canada and Mexico, close neighbours, major suppliers of these metals, and fellow members of the …
A World Trade Organization case against the United States’ Section 232 steel and aluminium tariffs is bound to rock the global trading system, writes Jennifer Freedman. Despite President Donald Trump’s claim that US duties on foreign steel and aluminium would safeguard American jobs and revive domestic industry, there is …
