The EU has announced today that it will launch negotiations to deepen economic ties with its rich neighbours.
EU trade policies
Latvian foreign minister calls for visa liberalisation and support for Belarus WTO accession as EU reassesses neighbourhood policy
[sh_light_text ]Latvia’s foreign minister Edgars Rinkēvičs , who was in Brussels on Monday, called for a clear commitment to support Europe’s eastern neighbours in the coming months as the Baltic state prepares to take over the EU’s member state council presidency. He stressed in particular the need to start talking about visa …
Information technology trade talks falter at WTO
[sh_light_text ]Hopes that negotiations to update to the 1997 WTO Information Technology Agreement (ITA) could be concluded this week were dashed today. Differences between China and Korea over the inclusion of LCD screens proved to be unbridgeable, despite significant progress during the latest round of EU-hosted ITA-II talks. D Ravi Kanth …
Blog: A call to reframe the debate over the trade implications of the EU’s fuel quality directive
A new brief by the think tank Carnegie Endowment for International Peace calls for better data collection and coordination with the World Trade Organization in setting fuel quality standards for climate change mitigation purposes, so as to avert future trade frictions.
In brief: Paper says European parliament not independent from national and corporate interests
In a sharp-tounged piece of commentary, two analysts from the Brussels-based trade policy think tank European Centre for International Political Economy argue the European parliament, with its growing co-decision powers, is not becoming the representative of the interest of European citizens at large as initially envisaged by proponents of the 2009 …
EU not yet ready to talk to Eurasian Economic Union as WTO cases mount
[sh_light_text ]Angela Merkel, Germany’s Chancellor, recently talked favourably of the idea of launching free trade talks with the Eurasian economic union (EEU). The EEU is due to come into force in January and deepen economic ties between Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia, the project’s main champion. But there are no signs Brussels is moving …
In brief: Cecilia Malmström’s next steps: new strategy TTIP, Japan, Vietnam, Doha
At a hearing with the European parliament yesterday, Cecilia Malmström explained what will be her next moves.
Information technology: ITA-II progress in sight ahead of WTO General Council meeting
[sh_light_text ]The European Union will host starting on December 4 the next round of ITA talks, ahead of the next WTO General Council on 10 December in Geneva. There is confidence a deal can struck after the US and China reached an agreement to overcome their differences last month. But …
At the western end of the Silk Road: how Poland hopes to deepen its trade ties with China
[sh_light_text ]Poland has sought to deepen its economic relationship with China and to jump on the bandwagon of China’s grand ‘Silk Road’ project. But the road ahead is not as smooth as silk, writes Iana Dreyer.[/sh_light_text]
Transparency & TTIP – devil in details, uncertainty over follow-up
[sh_light_text ]The EU’s transparency move on the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) negotiations announced last week still leaves questions open. The initiative’s exact modalities are not yet clear. It is also unclear whether it will introduce a lasting move to transparency in the bloc’s overall trade policy.[/sh_light_text]
