News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Thursday, May 19, 2022
The latest in EU trade policy news: new restrictions on steel from South Africa and MEP calls to restrict more product trade linked to deforestation and give industries a free pass – at least for a time – as CBAM gets rolled out. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
The European Union and five Eastern and Southern African countries are progressing in their negotiations on a revamped Economic Partnership Agreement, yet there remain tricky issues on the horizon concerning the trade and sustainable development and public procurement chapters.
While – quite understandably – much attention was paid to the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the traditional trade policy churn in Brussels did not stop. Selected updates below, by Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
As the shape of global trade changes, so does the EU need to update its thinking about its trade relationships with developing countries.
That was a big week in EU policy. There was an intense European Parliament plenary session during which legislation that will affect trade policy and transatlantic or EU China relations, namely the Digital Markets and Digital Services act as well as the International Procurement Instrument. But there have been other …
It’s been a very transatlantic week, with a slight African bent. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
If anything, this week in trade in Brussels was about preparing the ground for what comes next in the autumn 2021.
Negotiations between the EU and Angola to improve the latter’s investment climate and diversify its economy kicked off today via video conference. The ‘sustainable investment facilitation agreement’ would be the first of its kind and aim to facilitate investment conditions by enhancing transparency, simplifying procedures, particularly for SMEs, and enhancing …
The European Union and Kenya launched a ‘strategic partnership’ on Monday, whose pillar will be the implementation of the Kenyan arm of the EU-East African Community Economic Partnership.
EU Chile aim hope to conclude FTA upgrade – but when? The EU and Chile have been negotiating intensely this week to bring negotiations on the modernisation of their free trade agreement to a conclusion in the coming months.
