With the new Chips Act being the core EU trade policy news this week, here are some notable developments in Brussels.
Regulations
COMMENT – Ostrich policy : the EU’s anti-coercion instrument risks becoming a damp squib
The anti-coercion instrument that the European Commission is proposing for adoption this year coinciding with a crisis with China over its economic bullying of Lithuania is not only a risky institutional power transfer – it might end up being a damp squib.
Week in Brussels: anti-coercion, CBAM, GSP
We’ve had an intense week in trade policy. That included a bumper international trade committee meeting, where existing leadership – chair and vice-chairs – were re-elected without much of a fuss. We published what we consider the key stories coming out of the meeting on due diligence and forced labour …
Forced labour: Commission signals “tried and tested” due-diligence-cum-marketing ban approach
The European Commission is planning to incorporate a marketing ban on products produced with forced labour into its coming legislative proposal on sustainable corporate governance, which is expected to be presented mid February. During today’s meeting of the European Parliament’s international trade committee, the Commission’s director general for trade Sabine …
EU foreign ministers: fast-tracked anti-coercion legislation a response to Lithuania crisis
Given a range of other immediately dangerous security crises looming around the EU, not least with next-door Russia over Ukraine, EU member states have been slow in coming together to discuss in depth the lingering crisis over China’s unofficial embargo on exports from Lithuania. But it’s now happened. What the …
Festering Chinese Lithuania blockade emboldens anti-coercion instrument proponents
A festering crisis over trade with Lithuania is helping proponents of the EU’s recently announced anti-coercion instrument make their case in Brussels.
Anti-coercion: New EU ‘language of power’ raises governance questions
The European Commission tabled a long-awaited ‘anti-coercion’ instrument for the Council and European Parliament to assess and adopt. The unprecedented EU move is welcomed in foreign policy expert circles yet raises a range of new questions for the EU’s institutional setup and the global trading system.
Comment: How to make the EU’s anti-coercion instrument work
The European Union needs an anti-coercion instrument given the reality of an increasingly harsh geopolitical landscape, writes Bernd Lange in a guest contribution for Borderlex. An effective instrument requires a comprehensive definition of economic coercion and more international coordination with like-minded countries.
Week in Brussels: Indonesia, Singapore DAG, LatAm, supply chain due diligence
It’s been quite the busy week on the Brussels trade beat, with, among others, key trade files making headway in the European Parliament’s international trade committee: international procurement and carbon border adjustment. Also the EU, US and Japan revived their legendary ‘non market economy’ trilateral. Here other bits of interesting …
EU to coordinate anti-coercion law, Blocking Statute overhaul
The European Union is preparing two legislative measures to respond to what is perceived as a growing trend by other big powers to exert economic coercion on its firms and governments. The Commission is lining its ducks in a row over this matter, so as to ensure that the separate …
