News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Wednesday, April 30, 2025
The EU, the US and India came under fire today for measures to protect their steel and solar cell industries. But what’s more interesting is what wasn’t said during the meeting of the World Trade Organization’s Safeguards Committee. WTO members criticised the EU’s ‘safeguard’ investigation into steel as well …
Put on your seatbelt and get prepared for a crazy ride this week.
Initiatives and discussions involving large groups of countries on issues such as electronic commerce and investment facilitation signal that global trade rules are set for a revamp, says Alan Wolff, deputy director-general of the World Trade Organization. “The WTO rulebook very likely will be updated to address current and …
The EU is struggling to find a consistent, coherent and efficient strategy approach to the US administration’s choking off of the World Trade Organization’s Appellate Body and to its unilateral tariffs on steel and aluminium. There is a lot of back-and-forth in the background – both in Brussels and …
China must give exporters more time to adjust to 11 new environmental protection control standards for imported solid waste as raw materials, the EU says. Governments got just 30 days to comment on the proposed changes, which were to enter into force on 1 March, and exporters had only 14 …
The EU is engaged in a highly contortionist political exercise ahead of an expected final decision by the US administration on whether to make temporary exemptions on import duties on steel and aluminium permanent. Among the exertions is a notification to the WTO today.
There’s an eerie silence in the EU institutions around the current ‘negotiations’ with the Donald Trump administration over the issue of exempting the EU permanently from planned tariffs on aluminium and steel under Section 232. Even the European Parliament hasn’t been updated with the latest developments. The silence stands …
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 …
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 …
