News and analysis on trade policy in Europe
Tuesday, October 4, 2022
The United Kingdom’s trade policy has to date largely focused on signing agreements, first the replicas of EU FTAs, then new ones with Australia and New Zealand. While the key goal of accession to CPTPP is still to be achieved, there is little sense of what follows in the absence …
Outcomes from this week’s Trade and Technology Council will be seen as positive, but second or even third best to bilateral and multilateral deals. It is time to reset our evaluation of what are the best trade policy tools.
The number of commentaries proclaiming the end of globalisation will probably increase. The expected difficulties of finding consensus at the WTO’s 12th ministerial conference next June will add to these arguments. Cross-border business in fact remains healthy. But uncertainty around future policy choices may have a corrosive effect.
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 …
Businesses are on the defensive when it comes to the EU’s trade and regulatory agendas. This situation requires rethinking from both policy makers and lobbyists.
India’s recently announced trade deals with the United Arab Emirates and Australia have surprised those accustomed to India’s often obstructive trade policy. Their content however suggests that attitudes in New Delhi have not yet changed too much. This suggests there will be difficulties ahead for the UK – and the …
There is renewed speculation that the United Kingdom will delay the introduction of full import checks on food arriving from the European Union. Seen together with the ongoing disagreement with Brussels over the Northern Ireland Protocol, this reflects the British government’s continuing difficulty to reconcile leaving the single market with …
This week’s EU-China summit will be dominated by discussions on Russia and Ukraine. There is also a trade dimension to the conversation, amidst increasing mistrust and fears of full economic decoupling in the future. There is a need to prepare for the possibility of the latter while still setting out …
The recent compromise reached by the US, EU, India and South Africa over Intellectual Property and COVID-19 vaccines is neither perfect nor guaranteed to succeed but it is a reminder that agreements are possible in the World Trade Organization. Despite the remaining serious challenges to the trading system, signs of …
The United Kingdom and New Zealand can be considered among the countries most open to trade within a strong ruleset, and their recently released free trade agreement text unsurprisingly therefore breaks some new ground. However, with often relatively weak new provisions it isn’t a new model for inclusive trade that …
