Elena Santiago Cid, the director general of CEN and CENELEC*, two of the three European standards organisations, shares her views with Hermine Donceel on how recent EU trade agreements deal with industry standards issues. She also talks about the stalled Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership talks and shares her …
Author: Hermine Donceel
Week ahead: Mercosur, new antidumping methodology, EU India summit
Mercosur A new round of negotiations towards a free trade agreement between the European Union and Mercosur starts today (2 October 2017) in Brasilia. It is probably make-or-break week if both regional blocs want to reach a deal before the end of the year, a deadline supported both …
EU Mercosur: Commission and eight member states persist in ethanol and beef row
Divisions over whether to offer Mercosur tariff quotas on ethanol and beef came to a head in the past two days after the Commission circulated a proposal to offer 70 000 tons of beef and 600 000 tons of ethanol as part of an exchange of market access offers during …
Official Filipino visit fails to lift uncertainty over FTA, GSP+ status
An official delegation from the Philippines visited Brussels this week (25 September), in a move to try and persuade European Union institutions to keep the doors open to its exports. The visit has not put an end to the limbo in which FTA talks were put only a few months …
In brief: Brussels to look into Bombardier dispute
The decision by the United States Commerce Department on Tuesday (26 September) to slap punitive duties on aerospace products produced by the Canadian company Bombardier incurred the wrath of not only Canada, but also the United Kingdom. The US decision on Bombardier is affecting a factory located in Northern …
This week in EU trade: Mexico, digital, investment screening
It’s a packed trade week we are looking to. Angela Merkel was reelected Chancellor of Germany on Sunday. Her party’s previous coalition partner, the centre-left SPD, decided to remain in opposition in the coming four years. Germany will be busy negotiating a new government coalition between the centre-right CDU, …
Week ahead in EU trade: CETA, Asia, EU US
Germans will go to the polls on Sunday (24 September) to elect a new federal government. Chancellor Angela Merkel is favourite in the polls, but whether the current coalition with the SPD will survive is yet an open question. CETA comes into force provisionally The comprehensive economic and …
The week ahead in EU trade: State of Union, MTDI, Indonesia
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker will deliver his annual ‘State of the Union’ speech before the European Parliament on Wednesday (13 September). Juncker has hinted that the EU’s trade policy would feature prominently in his speech. Items expected in his remarks include the Commission’s position on the future architecture of trade …
EU in drive to promote ban on trade in products used for torture and death penalty
European Commissioner for trade Cecilia Malmström formally announced the European Union is seeking to form an international alliance to ban trade in products used for torture and capital punishment. The move is done jointly with Argentina and Mongolia. The alliance for torture-free trade hopes to pave the way towards …
Week ahead in EU trade: TDI, Mercosur and more
This week in Brussels will be dominated by background work on various FTAs and the overhaul of the EU’s trade defence methodology.