News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Saturday, May 10, 2025
With things suspiciously quiet on both the Mercosur and Mexico trade talk fronts, the biggest news concerning Brussels this week may be coming from Luxembourg, where the Court of Justice rules on the legality of intra-EU bilateral investment treaties. The week’s headlines will most likely be dominated by the looming …
There is a sense of disillusionment in the upper echelons of the European Commission at the announcement that the president of the United States is planning to slap an all-round tariff on steel and aluminium imports that would affect more than 6 billion euros worth of European exports. Among …
This week’s main news was the announcement of new steps to make labour and environment provisions in EU free trade agreement have more bite, and the looming steel wars between Brussels and Washington. There’s been a lot of ASEAN activity going on as well (more soon). Below is what else is good …
The EU’s top leadership reacted promptly to announcements in the US media that President Donald Trump will go ahead with slapping punitive import tariffs on steel. Trade retaliation of some form is expected from Brussels. The EU promises World Trade Organization-compatible moves. But here, the options are relatively limited, lawyers …
European Union trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström is in Singapore to attend a meeting with leaders of the South East Asian bloc ASEAN. The aim is to give new impetus to old plans to launch negotiations towards a region-to-region trade agreement. At the same time, the EU appears to be dragging …
There’s been a tremendous amount of media hoo-hah about the EU’s proposals on Northern Ireland in the draft Article 50 Withdrawal Agreement terms released today in Brussels. Here some highlights of the 119-page text relevant for trade policy wonks that are less visible in the media. Also, Tokyo explicitly said …
Proponents of giving equal weight to labour and environment provisions in relation to commercial commitments in the EU’s free trade agreements were disappointed. On Tuesday, the European Commission ended a six-month consultation process with nongovernmental organisations and business by releasing a ‘non paper’ on how to strengthen so-called trade and …
The central topic on the minds of trade ministers during their informal meeting in snowy Sofia on Tuesday was the United States’s trade policies. The EU is readying a differentiated response to any possible import duties US President Donald Trump could apply to European steel and aluminium. In February, …
Foreign affairs ministers met today in Sofia to take decisions on a variety of difficult foreign affairs files. The picture isn’t rosy, with Syria, Venezuela or Myanmar on top of leaders’ agenda. The Foreign Affairs Council also devised a few new conclusions on the EU’s climate diplomacy. The use …
EU trade ministers are meeting in Bulgaria. The EU-ASEAN Business Summit and ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meeting will focus on trade and investment ties between the two regions. More details below: Foreign Affairs Council Trade EU trade ministers will have two main issues in mind at a meeting that …
