Outcomes from this week’s Trade and Technology Council will be seen as positive, but second or even third best to bilateral and multilateral deals. It is time to reset our evaluation of what are the best trade policy tools.
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
TTC : beneath the Russia work, the China work continues
By Iana Dreyer with input from Rob Francis. The final version of the joint statement between the United States and the European Union released on Monday reveals a dense and complex work programme across the Atlantic.
EU, US to announce standardisation MoU amidst range of TTC novelties
The European Union and the United States have concluded their joint statement ahead of their second Trade and Technology Council meeting. Officials from Brussels and Washington will converge on Saclay near Paris on Sunday to sign off on a more than 50-page document, which they are due to unveil on …
Ukraine: EU announces help to speed up food exports via land route
The European Commission today published an action plan to help Ukraine export its agricultural goods in the wake of Russia’s invasion of the country.
COMMENT: Digital Partnerships in Asia -Pacific: EU needs to be more than non-committal
Is this the European Union’s approach to ‘digital partnerships’ in the Indo-Pacific just fluff? At the very least one can say it is much too timid.
EU & Cariforum pledge to tackle EPA deficiencies
The sixth meeting of the CARIFORUM-EU Economic Partnership Agreement Consultative Committee, which took place on Tuesday (4 May) in Barbados, noted that there are “deficiencies on both sides” when it comes to the implementation of the Economic Partnership Agreement.
Week in Brussels: Russia sanctions, Chile FTA, palm oil
A new week has passed in EU trade policy. Here some highlights. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Analysis – The EU-US Trade and Tech Council as the new ‘friend-shoring’ vehicle
The EU US Trade and Technology Council has somewhat fallen off global headlines amid the war in Ukraine and the related fallout for the global economy, global supply chains and global politics. But despite its structural weaknesses as a forum to deepen economic ties across the Atlantic, it is defying …
London imposes Russian ban on accessing key services
The United Kingdom has announced a ban on doing business with Russia in a range of services sectors, including management consultancy, accountancy and public relations work. The move, unveiled on Wednesday (4 May), extends the focus of the UK’s economic battle against the Putin regime from goods to services. Bans …
WTO panel lenient on EU steel safeguard
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 …