The fact that the international trade policy community’s attention was all on MC12 in Geneva throughout the week does not mean there weren’t other meaningful news on trade and investment policy in Brussels. More below from Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Regulations
Week in Brussels: Moldovan plums, forced labour, OECD ministerial
It’s been a dramatic week in the EU as the European Parliament failed to agree on wide-ranging plans to move the EU to net-zero carbon emissions. Votes on the MEPs’ positions on the proposed carbon border adjustment mechanism and a related reform of the EU’s emissions trading scheme were postponed. …
Anti-coercion: what MEPs want from the new instrument
The legislative saga of the coming anti-coercion instrument has now begun. The regulation was tabled in December last year. The EU’s member states will likely take their time in defining their response to the European Commission’s regulatory proposal for what is termed the ‘ACI’ in the jargon. But the European …
Week in Brussels: forced labour ban, EU views on MC12, anti-coercion instrument
One can’t say the European Parliament is not working diligently. It shows in this week’s range of trade-related activities. It approved lifting import duties on Ukraine and expedited its work on the GSP regulation overhaul. Below is a selection of what else happened on trade in parliament this week. By …
Week in Brussels: anti-coercion, GSP wrangles, forced labour, India
A few notable developments in EU trade policy this week. By Rob Francis an Iana Dreyer.
Anti-coercion : Lange report seeks to give even more ammunition to EU
The European Parliament is on a path to making the EU’s planned anti-coercion instrument even tougher than envisaged by the European Commission – and putting it most likely at loggerheads with the Council.
Commission: EU forced labour product ban to be tabled by September
The European Commission announced that it will come forward with its planned market restriction on products made from forced labour by September.
Week in Brussels: CBAM controversy, anti-coercion instrument, EP Africa report
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.
Corporate due diligence: EU casts wide net of companies, shuns forced labour product ban
The European Commission released its long-awaited proposal obliging companies of a certain size operating in the EU to undertake due diligence across its supply chain covering potential human rights and environmental abuses. In a separate communication on ‘decent work worldwide’, the EU executive announced it was preparing legislation to ban products …
EU supply chain due diligence legislation contours emerging
The European Commission’s proposal for a regulation on corporate sustainability due diligence looks likely to apply to EU companies with more than 500 employees with a net turnover of more than €150 million in the last financial year. But smaller companies involved in sensitive sectors in matters related to environmental …