The European Union (EU)’s trade policy has become more assertive towards big emerging markets over the last years. The number and types of cases brought to the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) dispute settlement body over the last ten years are an indication of this trend.
EU trade policies
Blog: German public opinion still pretty relaxed about TTIP
The German weekly Der Spiegel reports today that a new opinion survey ordered by a consumer organisation reveals that 48 percent of Germans think the transatlantic trade and investment partnership (TTIP) is a good thing. That figure is lower than the 55 percent revelaed by a Pew Research survey earlier …
Flash: Contours of Cecilia Malmström’s cabinet start appearing
The contours of the new European trade commissioner’s cabinet start appearing. According to our sources,
Car, train industry opposition may quash goal to clinch EU-Japan FTA in 2015
[sh_light_text ]During a seventh round of talks last week, EU and Japan moved closer to wrapping up a free trade agreement that could boost Europe’s economy and add 400,000 jobs. But the two sides remain divided over key issues such as automobiles and agriculture, leaving in doubt their ability to …
“Realpolitik” – Karel De Gucht’s imprint on EU trade policy
[sh_light_text ]Has the EU’s trade strategy entered an era of ‘realpolitik’? Under outgoing commissioner’s Karel De Gucht’s tenure at the helm of EU trade policy, the bloc’s commercial instruments have increasingly been used as political tools in a world of rising emerging markets and geopolitical tensions, writes Iana Dreyer.[/sh_light_text]
Blog: A rare business perspective on Economic Partnership Agreements with Africa
Has European business been ‘outsmarted’ by China’s on the European Union’s Economic Partnerships Agreements (EPAs) in Africa? That’s one of the new kinds of questions the EPA process raises.
Comment: Why the planned European free trade deal with Vietnam will not likely see light so soon
[sh_light_text ]Hopes a planned EU-Vietnam free trade deal would be clinched at the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) this week in Italy were dashed when both sides announced they were hoping to conclude the deal “in the next few months”. Despite Hanoi’s and Brussels’ declared optimism, an early conclusion of the talks is …
EU-China investment treaty talks may face bumpy road
[sh_light_text ]The EU and China are discussing their planned bilateral investment treaty on the sidelines of the Asia Europe Meeting (ASEM) in Italy this week. Both want to conclude an agreement that mutually opens markets and better protects investors’ rights. But negotiations will likely be protracted and Beijing does not appear to prioritise this deal with Brussels, Jennifer Freedman …
Fit for the city? Trade policy and today’s urban economy
[sh_light_text ]Cities are increasingly the locus of the world economy. Since 2007, more than half the world population has been living in cities. The world is continuing to urbanise rapidly. But are today’s trade policies and free trade negotiations up to the task of catering to cities’ needs? A panel …
Blog: Member states publish TTIP negotiating mandate
Today the 28 members of the council of the EU agreed to declassify the mandate they gave to the EU commission last year to negotiate TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) with the United States. Its content offers few surprises, but the paragraphs on investor protection involving investor-to-state dispute settlement (ISDS) reveal member states …
