News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Friday, May 9, 2025
China is the first country to lodge a legal challenge to US tariffs on steel and aluminium that officials from other World Trade Organization members, including the EU, say violate global trade laws. Beijing says the duties are discriminatory, because the US gave exemptions to some trade partners but not …
Beyond the brewing trade battle between the US and China that has encompassed many economies around the world, including the EU, (in case you missed it, see our latest story here) it was relatively quiet on the European trade front last week. But things are slowly starting to rev up …
This week was comparatively quiet. It was Easter, after all. There’s been some movement on the wider global trade war front. Don’t forget to read up on our two articles here and here. The headlines of these articles’ may say ‘China’ or ‘Japan’, but the pieces include a lot …
With global fears mounting that the US-China trade dispute will escalate into a full-blown trade war, a softer tone from senior officials in both countries this week suggesting that the standoff could be resolved through negotiations came as welcome news around the world. Both sides seemed ready to take a …
The EU and Japan are joining the United States in a World Trade Organization dispute against China’s intellectual property practices. On Wednesday, the EU and Japan filed a request to join consultations – a preliminary phase in a legal dispute – initiated by Washington. Despite facing, as political allies, …
Reports that the European Union is “closely examining” possible World Trade Organization complaints against China for its policies and practices on intellectual property come as little surprise, as the EU just last week told a WTO committee that it was concerned about Beijing’s technology licensing requirements. US President Donald …
The European Free Trade Association expects to sign a free trade agreement with Ecuador as well as an expanded accord with Turkey this year. Negotiations will continue with India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam, while talks with the Latin American Mercosur bloc that began in 2017 will also move ahead in …
With Easter approaching it’s been a comparatively quiet week in Brussels, although behind the scenes there is a lot of work on dealing with the United States’ protectionist “extortion”, as so many call it. There are preparations for the next phase of Brexit negotiations and there’s been work hammering out …
There was a significant increase in investment policies that restrict foreign investments over the last six months, according to UNCTAD, the United Nations trade and investment policy advisory body. The period from November 2017 to February 2018 “saw a remarkable increase in investment restrictions or regulations”, UNCTAD’s latest Investment …
On Monday, seven World Trade Organization members raised concerns about the EU’s new Renewable Energy Directive during a goods committee meeting. In January, the European Parliament voted to ban palm oil from the bloc’s targets for consumption of renewable energy for transport by 2021, in a shift away from earlier …
