On Wednesday (15 January 2017), the European Parliament will vote on the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement – or CETA. Should MEPs endorse the trade pact with Canada, the bulk of it will come into force provisionally in the spring 2017. The move will have been preceded by heavy campaigning for and against the …
EU trade policies
In brief: Indonesia files appeal against WTO ‘fatty alcohol’ ruling
Jakarta is not happy with a WTO dispute settlement body ruling that largely rebuffed a case it brought against the EU for applying antidumping duties on its exports of ‘fatty alcohols’. Today, it officially lodged an appeal in the WTO. In a panel report issued on 16 December 2016 the dispute settlement …
The week in EU trade 13-17 February 2017
The week ahead will likely determine the fate of the EU’s trade policy as the European Parliament votes on Wednesday to adopt or reject the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement with Canada, also known as CETA. Crucial CETA vote Observers expect consent from the European Parliament, but the …
In brief: French officials see EU Japan trade pact conclusion not before end 2017
After a substantial acceleration of free trade negotiations between the EU and Japan, raising hopes a pact could be concluded in the early months of 2017, momentum has petered out. With a bilateral United States – Japan trade agreement to potentially replace the Transpacific Partnership which Japan signed with …
EU seeks blanket exception to free data flows for data privacy in trade pacts
The EU is working on the text it intends to table on the issue of cross-border data flows in coming free trade agreements, though few observers believe the text will be ready very soon. The fate of trade pacts, such as the EU-Japan free trade agreement, which negotiators wish to …
In brief: Commission softens trade defence measures on Chinese solar panels
The Commission is proposing to reduce the time it wishes to extend exiting antidumping duties and anti-subsidy price measures targeting Chines solar panels from two years to 18 months. The measures were introduced in 2013, formally expired late 2015, and then were extended for a year during an expiry …
Hard campaigning around CETA in EU Parliament as ratification date nears
There is clearly a sense of panic in the EU Parliament over the fate of the controversial EU Canada trade agreement CETA. MEPs are expected to ratify the pact on 15 February 2017, after which the bulk of the deal would come into force ‘provisionally’. Though most observers believe there is and …
EU in drive to patch up relations with Morocco in wake of Western Sahara trade row
Although last December the Court of Justice of the EU overturned an earlier ruling that invalidated the suspension of a 2012 bilateral agreement between the EU and Morocco on trade in agriculture and fisheries, the damage the case brought to relations between Brussels and Rabat is not quite yet repaired …
Indonesia FTA papers: Intellectual property and raw materials among top EU priorities
The EU Commission has released nine revealing negotiating texts it tabled to Indonesian trade authorities during the second round of free trade talks held in Jakarta in late January. The report on the round published by the Commission hailed the talks as “constructive” and explained that the EU set …
Cecilia Malmström chides China for its protectionism
EU trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström has not minced her words in a speech in Brussels on Monday (6 February 2017) at a business meeting ahead of the impending publication by the EU Chamber of Commerce in China’s of its annual report on trade barriers in the Asian country. The speech comes …
