Trade policy activity is quieting down somewhat in Brussels ahead of the usual summer lull. Here nonetheless some interesting trade policy highlights for you. Iana Dreyer and Nikos Lavranos.
Sectors
EU-Mercosur : Contours of a limited deal on public procurement
The fact that the EU had concluded its least ambitious agreement on public procurement in a free trade agreement in many years with the four member countries of the Mercosur was well known. The recent release of the fine print of the mutual market access offers in the trade pillar …
Kleimann: A successful Article XX defence of the EU’s CBAM is not off the cards
As the dust settles on the Commission’s raft of climate proposals released last week (14 July), commentators and experts are now beginning to analyse them in depth and, in the case of the carbon border adjustment measure at least, assess its compatibility with the World Trade Organization rule-book and the …
Mercosur: EU sets precedent with tariff preferences conditional on animal welfare standards
The EU and the parties to the EU Mercosur Association Agreement are making progress on the ‘legal scrubbing’ of the trade pillar of their prospective agreement. Whereas most parts of the agreement have been public since 2019, critical pieces of market access offers were not made public as their fine …
Week in Brussels: Merkel DC, Ukraine raw materials partnership, review of a TSD action plan
There’s been a lot of big news in trade in Europe this week. Here a few more news items to take away before the week-end. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Perspectives: Let’s carefully embrace ‘conditional’ trade
The European Union and United Kingdom are among those actively reconsidering the traditional links between trade policy and broader public policy objectives such as tackling climate change. While not without risks, conditioning access to one’s market on a trading partner addressing such global challenges seems the best way forward to …
IISD: Canada, EU should seek negotiated agreement on border carbon adjustment
Canada is preparing to introduce a carbon border adjustment measure whose contours are not yet known. Canada and the European Union vowed at a bilateral summit mid-June to “exchange on respective approaches to carbon pricing and WTO-compatible border carbon adjustments”. A think tank is now making concrete proposals on how …
Commission: CBAM “fully in line with international trade rules”
The European Commission says its proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism complies with the World Trade Organization rule-book. The proposed regulation obliges EU importers of cement, electricity, fertilisers, iron & steel, and aluminium from third countries to purchase annual emission allowances. Their cost will depend on the degree of emissions embedded …
James Bacchus: The WTO simply must prove that it can do something, not just talk
James Bacchus spoke with Rob Francis about the European Union’s carbon border adjustment mechanism, trade in medicines and medical products, how the Biden Administration is progressing on trade policy – and the World Trade Organization in all this.
European Union to ban imports of products made with forced labour
The European Commission is planning to introduce legislation that would ban imports containing inputs produced with forced labour in situations where company due diligence alone cannot do the job.
