Subsidies, digital and Indo-Pacific, but also Ukraine and Mercosur. These currently are the bread-and-butter trade issues in Brussels – and developments this week were very representative. Von der Leyen announces duty suspension extension for Ukraine European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Thursday (2 February) an extension to …
EU FTAs & bilateral ties
EU and Singapore formalise digital partnership
The EU and Singapore signed a bilateral digital partnership in Brussels which could pave the way towards binding rules covering diverse aspects of digital trade.
Week in Brussels: Latin American FTAs, trilogue troubles, Brit subsidy and cyber worries
It’s been a dense and intense week in EU trade. Here a few snippets. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer. Sweden wants those FTAs – but there’s trouble ahead on the Latin American front Sweden’s trade minister Johan Forssell confirmed on Tuesday (24 January) that the Swedish presidency of the …
EU, Thailand revive FTA preparation process
The European Commission announced late on Wednesday (25 January) that it would be launching consultations with Thailand with the aim of restarting trade talks.
Week in Brussels: Business on due diligence, EU reopens Cambodia rice case
While everyone was away in Davos this week, business tried to seize the momentum on the coming EU sustainability corporate due diligence regulation and the European Commission acted to avoid having to repay Cambodian exporters duties paid as part a safeguard that was slapped down by the ECJ. By Rob …
EU to focus on ‘de-risking’ China trade links in 2023
Three years into a pandemic and almost one year into a war in Ukraine have probably durably changed the European Union’s outlook on China. Its policy approach to Beijing this year is to reflect this change.
EU – US post-Brexit agriculture quota reallocation deal edges closer to implementation
USTR Katherine’s Tai’s stopover in Brussels this week resulted not only in the relaunch of the TTC process, but also in the signature of a long-sought deal to partially reallocate the division of EU tariff rate quotas between the United Kingdom and the EU27 – almost two years after the …
ASIA TRADE: What’s in store for Asia-Pacific trade agreements in 2023
Much of Asia is preparing to usher in the year of the rabbit this coming weekend. Expect much movement on the trade agreement front as the region returns to a post-pandemic normality.
US, EU set TTC, year’s steel talks rolling
The EU and United States have agreed to accelerate work on the various bilateral trade initiatives linked to sustainability in advance of the next ministerial meeting of the transatlantic Trade and Technology Council to be held before the summer in Sweden. After meeting US trade representative Katherine Tai on her …
Commission reports slow but steady progress on EU Indonesia FTA
The EU and Indonesia achieved some wins during their latest trade negotiations in the week of 12 December. But further discussions will be necessary on several chapters, whilst others, such as trade and sustainable development, are still at an early stage.