This article looks into the market access and business rule dimension of the EU New Zealand free trade agreement – except subsidies, SOEs, competition and intellectual property, which will receive separate attention. The analysis is provided by Chris Horseman and Iana Dreyer based on the draft treaty text recently published …
Agriculture
Week in Brussels: Foreign subsidies, Turkey steel, mirror clauses, Moldova fast-track
It’s been a big week in the European Union on trade. The highlight certainly was the FTA deal announced with New Zealand on Thursday, which breaks some new ground on sustainability issues – details here. Member states have made up their minds on the burning carbon border adjustment and deforestation …
Mirror clauses policy debate heats up ahead of Commission paper release
The French presidency of the Council may be entering its last month, but one of its key priorities –pushing for the application of EU health and environmental standards to imports of agricultural and food products – looks set to remain on the EU’s agenda for the foreseeable future.
Week in Brussels: Davos, France-Australia, Council transparency slip, citrus pest
It’s been a comparatively quiet week on the trade policy front in Europe – given the Ascension extended holiday. But there were some notable developments. By Iana Dreyer and Rob Francis.
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.
Perspectives: A crisis and an opportunity in agricultural trade
After energy, the most exposed sector to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is food because both countries are among the top global exporters of grains and fertiliser. While this gives further impetus to the ongoing policy debates about supply security and economic resilience in a range of countries, this crisis may …
Ukraine crisis poses acute challenges to open food trade system
Can the world navigate its way through the supply chain and price crises triggered by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine without triggering large-scale rejection of the principles of an open trading system?
Deforestation regulation: member states weigh product scope expansion
A majority of EU agricultural ministers today expressed support for the current scope of the European Commission’s proposal to restrict the import of products associated with deforestation and forest degradation. The new government coalition in Germany however is calling for wetlands and savannah ecosystems to be included, and several member …
EU ‘reciprocity’ push for agriculture production standards moves up one gear
France will table a position paper to feed-in to an upcoming European Commission report on applying EU health and environmental production standards to imported products.
Brazil sues EU over salmonella regulations at the WTO
Almost ten years after rules on salmonella in poultry meat were amended in the European Union, Brazil is filing for consultations at the dispute settlement body of the World Trade Organization in Geneva over what it sees as discriminatory treatment of its processed poultry meat.