Britain is voting on whether to leave or stay in the EU. A decision by the UK to remain is likely to prolong the current state of generalised gridlock in EU trade politics. Yet at least we will have ‘the mess we know’: a state akin to being in a purgatory. Brexit …
EU trade policies
Protectionism reports: India, Brazil, Russia, and trade defence in focus
New EU Commission and a WTO/OECD reports highlight latest protectionist trends in G20.
In Brief: Privacy Shield scrutinised by member states
The Commission has been renegotiating some aspects of the Privacy Shield concluded in April. This is the deal that replaces the defunct Safe Harbor that allows US business to transfer personal data from the EU to the US. The Commission went back to Washington, after initial criticisms of the Privacy …
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 …
Digital Europe calls for EU Turkey customs union upgrade
The business association Digital Europe is trying to fight against rising protectionism in the information technology sector in Turkey. In a new report released on Friday (17 June), the business group calls for a speedup of current attempts to launch negotiations to modernise the 1995 EU Turkey customs union. The …
Green taxes, colour-blind trade rules
It’s not TTIP that will constrain our environmental rule-making. The WTO does that already. By Hosuk Lee Makiyama. Trade rules and environmental protection have always been uneasy bedfellows. And like much of the broader trade debate in Europe these days, TTIP is the …
EU exporters subject to rising number of antidumping actions abroad – Commission report
EU exporters face a rising number of trade defence duties applied to them in export markets, a freshly released annual report by the EU Commission reveals. “The number of [trade defence instrument] measures in force affecting EU exports in 2015 was 151, which corresponds to an increase when compared …
TTIP: rules of origin – EU textiles worry about potential changes to “list rules”
One of the most complex issues to resolve in the TTIP negotiations is what type of rules to apply for products to qualify for duty-free treatment – the so-called rules or origin (ROOs) – under the deal. EU and US free trade agreements use quite different ROO systems in their …
‘Political agreement’ over conflict minerals regulation reached – Slovak presidency to take over
Sustainability has been the leitmotiv of the Dutch Council presidency’s trade agenda during the first half of 2016. The Netherlands has set its priority on achieving compromise with fellow member states, the Commission and the Parliament on a regulation that aims to exclude tin, tantalum, tungsten and gold produced in …
Malaysian Palm Oil Council keeps vigilant on French “Nutella tax”
French MPs from the sustainable development commission of the National Assembly, France’s lower house, have reportedly expressed the desire to revert a March 2016 decision by France’s upper house, the Sénat, to scrap a tax on palm oil imports. The vote was sent back to the lower house and …
