Public support for the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership has seen a little increase over the last six months, if one believes the latest Eurobarometer poll. Approval ratings for the TTIP had been falling steadily since 2014 in the European opinion survey that is done every May and November. …
EU trade policies
Commission seeks to streamline EU customs union to respond to new security challenges
The Commission is moving to modernise the EU’s fifty-year old customs union. The aim is to continue streamlining and harmonizing customs processes across member states, without initiating new legislation. In a new Communication released today (21 December 2016), the services of Commissioner Pierre Moscovici write: “in an era where …
Commission to request mandate for EU Turkey customs union modernisation
The Commission has decided to move ahead with a long-sizzling project to launch negotiations towards the modernisation of the 1995 customs union with Turkey. The move is largely a way to keep up relationships with Turkey as its recently restarted EU accession processed stalled again, not least after German Chancellor …
EU Singapore FTA is a mixed agreement, says ECJ Advocate General
In an opinion issued ahead of an expected Court of Justice ruling regarding the competences accruing to the EU and the member states respectively as to the EU Singapore free trade agreement, a pact concluded in 2013, the Advocate General has confirmed that the deal covers issues that are both …
ECJ upholds EU Morocco trade agreement in appeal ruling
The Court of Justice of the EU supported the Council in its appeal to a December 2015 tribunal ruling that annulled a 2012 trade agreement between the EU and Morocco liberalising trade in agriculture and fisheries. The case was brought by the Polisario Front and brought forward the risk of …
In brief: Ukraine Association Agreement now on track for ratification
A bill submitted to the Dutch Parliament by Mark Rutte greenlighting the Dutch government’s ratification of the EU Ukraine Association Agreement is likely to pass the final hurdle in the upper house, sources say. The deal faced uncertainty after a compromise declaration adopted by EU member state in 15 December. The Christian Democratic …
COM review of antidumping duties on Argentina and Indonesia biodiesel part of broader web of legal disputes
The Commission announced it was undertaking a review of its antidumping measures applied to biodiesel imported from Indonesia and Argentina which have been in force since 2013. The move is only part of a wider web of legal disputes regarding these measures. The announcement states that the EU aims to comply with …
Comment: Is there a point to the ‘fatty alcohol’ WTO case?
Short observations by Iana Dreyer. The WTO dispute settlement body recently largely took sides with the EU in an obscure antidumping case on imports of alcohols derived from various oils, otherwise known as ‘fatty alcohols’. Indonesia initiated a WTO dispute panel in 2012 a few months after the …
EU Japan FTA talks require “more work” – EU chief negotiator
The EU and Japan have been trying to conclude their free trade talks before the end of 2016, but the already not very realistic prospect of doing so has hit the wall of reality. “These negotiations are very close to a conclusion”, said Mauro Petriccione, the EU’s chief negotiator at …
MES: China’s WTO complaint on antidumping against EU targets the ‘basic regulation’
China’s complaint to the WTO’s dispute settlement body on Monday was released on Thursday (15 December 2016) ahead of a meeting in Geneva. The text attacks the EU’s so-called ‘basic regulation’ and the relevant articles that single out China for a different treatment than other WTO members for the …
