This week has mainly been about the EU-Vietnam trade agreement and the final stretches over the 20-year-old EU Mercosur trade negotiations.
EU trade policies
EU and Mercosur dare hope for trade deal breakthrough in coming days
The European Union appears determined to make a major point about trade policy at the G20 summit in Osaka, which opened today (27 June) in Japan. Negotiations to conclude a trade pact with the South American bloc Mercosur are continuing after marathon meetings with ministers today. The signs are a …
E-commerce: Data localisation requirements emerge as major flashpoint
Plurilateral e-commerce negotiations in the WTO are clearly on track, with rounds taking place every month. The talks, which were kick-started in March, are still their infancy, although they are progressing rapidly.
EU member states give green light to Vietnam trade and investment pacts
It took three and a half years since the negotiations were first finalised, but here we are: the EU’s member states has given the green light to the EU Vietnam free trade agreement and investment protection agreement. This paves the way for official signature and the ratification process in the …
UPDATE – Week Ahead in EU trade: Vietnam and Mercosur crunch week, DSB
This article was updated on 24 June at 17.35 CET. New information includes detailed dates for the EU Vietnam agreements and an update/erratum on the Spanish olives dispute settlement case. This week we might see breakthroughs in the Vietnam and Mercosur trade agreements. We will certainly see more EU US …
EU requests arbitration panel under EU Ukraine Association Agreement
The EU is escalating its dispute with Ukraine over the country’s continued ban on exports of timber, and requested a panel this week after initial consultations collapsed. This is the first bilateral arbitration panel to be established under an EU trade agreement.
Week in Brussels: Vietnam, banana pesticides, ISDS awards and state aid
This week we saw developments on the EU China market economy case, Mercosur, the UK GSP scheme, fishing and Korea. What else happened?
In brief: EU aims to conclude Mercosur talks by end of June in Japan
Negotiators are giving it a try: to conclude the EU-Mercosur trade negotiations at the G20 summit in Osaka in 10 days’ time (28 and 29 June).
EU Korea: Movement on auto standards and labour
The EU not only managed to get South Korea to launch the ratification process of International Labour Organisation conventions it committed to abide by in the 2011 EU Korea free trade agreement, Seoul also agreed to update and accept new technical and EU automotive standards as part of ongoing bilateral …
EU WTO market economy status case suspended – following request from China
The Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization has suspended the high-profile case it brought against the European Union. Beijing sued because it believed the EU had not complied with a commitment to treat is as a market economy in its trade defence measures in time for a December …
