News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Tuesday, May 13, 2025
August is traditionally quiet in European Union trade policy making. Here’s this month’s main Brussels trade story so far. A panel of arbitrators appointed under the 2016 Economic Partnership Agreement between the EU and the Southern African Development Community ruled on 3 August that an import safeguard on frozen chicken …
The European Commission announced it was planning to suspend import duties of 5.5% and 6.5% on nitrogen based inputs for fertiliser production. This is seen as a means to support food production and keep prices in check in response to the fallout of the war in Ukraine.
Comparing a range of international financial flows from governments to private firms with the European Union state aid environment in its single market is risky enough from the perspective of World Trade Organization legality. But the new EU foreign subsidies regulation is due to take another dive into the international …
The French presidency of the EU worked until the very last hours of its rotating presidency to bring an inter-institutional agreement to bed on a regulatory file that will drastically change the way foreign investment compliance procedures will operate in the single market. This evening the three institutions announced a …
It’s been a decisive week. EU sanctions regime ventures into new* services export restrictions European Union member states finally agreed on a sixth package of sanctions targeting Russia. The highlight of this package is a partial oil embargo – six-month phase in and piped oil excluded – on imports from …
The European Union’s member states, the European Commission and the European Parliament will start inter-institutional trilogue negotiations on the EU’s new foreign subsidies regulation as soon as this week. Despite some differences in their approach capitals and member states are set to converge on a piece of legislation that might …
Part Two of the recent Turkey-EU trade dispute settlement saga around pharmaceuticals and steel is ending today with a panel report that goes easy on Brussels in its handling of its 2018 steel safeguard measure. Even if the panel did not give the EU a clean slate in the way …
The European Parliament’s international trade committee has adopted by unanimity its report on the European Union’s coming foreign subsidies regulation. The new piece of legislation aims at subjecting foreign investors to the same type of subsidy control system as EU firms operating in its single market’s state-aide regime. The move …
The journey of the new EU foreign subsidies regulation through the European Parliament promises to be a rocky but not impossible one as key dividing lines among political groups emerge over critical aspects of the new legislation.
In a few weeks or months the European Union will have a new regulation in place that aims at fostering ‘reciprocity’ in public procurement markets. French minister for trade Franck Riester, who led trilogue talks on behalf of the French presidency of the Council, announced triumphantly that, with the political …
