News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Monday, May 5, 2025
EU member states are now allowed to suspend the payment of import duties on imports of vital medical supplies. The move is expected to be formalised later this week, European Commission sources said. Consultations with businesses and government are ongoing in an attempt to secure vital supplies amidst an almost …
Today EU member states gave their final assent to the EU Vietnam free trade agreement – the move was delayed by a few weeks due to the disturbances in the EU meeting calendar brought by the COVID-19 situation. The flagship trade pact with the South East Asian emerging market is …
Should the COVID-19 lockdowns in Europe last – it looks like the crisis isn’t yet over – we might see a gradual fading of the chaos that has been witnessed at borders within the single market and with non-EU countries following abrupt closures in recent weeks aimed at stemming the …
This week was ‘virtual summit’ week, with a focus on the global coronavirus pandemic and its dramatic economic fallout. G20 leaders gathered virtually on Thursday and European Union heads of government had very long meeting online last night that almost failed. But capitals still managed a joint statement. There were …
The European Commission is encouraging member states to actively protect critical medical and healthcare assets. In ‘guidelines’ released on Wednesday night, the EU executive body is seeking to fast-forward the implementation of a regulation on the screening of foreign direct investments that is only due to come into force in …
The Swiss government announced today that it would restrict exports of personal protective gear – gloves, masks, goggles and other items needed to protect against the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The move was made against the background of shortages of such products amidst a surge in cases in the …
On Monday the European Commission issued guidelines to member states on how to best manage a system of ‘green lanes’ it adopted at critical border junctions in the European Union to ease the flow of goods in the bloc’s much-vaunted single market. But what do these guidelines really resolve?
The European Commission has issued guidelines to member states that signal it has significantly watered down export restrictions on protective medical gear such as gloves or masks introduced earlier this week. Last week-end’s EU move – intended to be in force for a period of 6 weeks only – provoked …
The European Union is revising for a second time its steel import safeguard which it formally introduced in February 2019. Turkey is now potentially complicating the process. Imports of steel from across the world were restricted following the United States’ decision to introduce high tariffs on steel imports on national …
Border closures within the EU introduced by member states to stem the spread of COVID-19 and EU-wide restrictions on travel into the bloc imperil medical supplies, say operators in the medical industry.
