G20 fallout December 2018 will be remembered as a decisive moment in European trade policy. Leaders came back to Europe from the G20 in Argentina over the week-end without securing a commitment by the big leaders to fight protectionism – although WTO reform is on the agenda of the world’s …
Singapore
‘Horizontal safeguard regulation’ helps clear hurdle of Asian FTA ratification
It was meant to be largely a technical exercise. It turned out to be more political than expected. The European Union is about to adopt a new regulation on safeguards on imports that will apply equally to all its new bilateral free trade agreements. A final compromise among the three …
Singapore IPA: Commission tells MEPs cancelling existing bilateral BITs is first priority
MEPs are preparing the ground to ratify the EU-Singapore free trade and investment protection agreements in the hope this can be done early next year. “We have kept waiting our Singaporean friends for quite some time,” David Martin, rapporteur on ASEAN trade, said during today’s trade committee meeting. The original …
Flash: Japan, Korea, Singapore, EU US updates
The long Asia-focused trade week in Brussels is finishing late on a Friday with a salvo of new announcements. Here a quick roundup. Juncker-Abe meeting During a bilateral meeting with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe said Tokyo is readying itself to ratify the recently signed EU …
Week ahead in EU trade: INTA, trilogue, Japan, TRQs, China, Indonesia
The next two weeks are notable for all the rounds of trade negotiations: the EU will hold talks with China and Indonesia this week and then with Mercosur and New Zealand next week. In between, EU and Japanese officials will sign their economic partnership and strategic partnership agreements. But perhaps …
FAC trade: low expectations regarding US steel exemption
There’s little that is really new to report on the Foreign Affairs Council meeting held today in Brussels. The EU is not nurturing strong hopes to be exempted from import restrictions from the United States. Australia and New Zealand trade negotiations to begin by July As expected the …
FTA roundup: Mexico, Japan, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand
There have been a few developments and clarifications on the variety of bilateral free trade agreements under way in the EU in recent days. So here are some updates on where things stand with Mexico, Singapore, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. EU-Mexico ‘agreement in principle’ – next steps …
In brief: Commission starts Japan and Singapore ratification processes
The European Commission today initiated the ratification process of the EU’s trade agreements with Japan and Singapore. The Singapore pact, concluded in 2014, was subject to a lengthy judicial process that resulted in a May 2017 ruling by the Court of Justice of the EU identifying where the bloc …
Week ahead in EU trade: US, Mexico, investment, Commonwealth, Australia
This week, the the policy churn in Brussels will mainly be about what to do about Donald Trump’s trade policies. Some progress might be made when the EU and Mexico sit down for another negotiating round aimed at updating their trade deal, and European lawmakers in Strasbourg will vote on a …
EU FTA roundup – Negotiations, ratifications, mandates
EU free trade negotiations, ratifications and mandate releases have been on the slow lane recently compared to other trade policy files, as President Donald Trump and Brexit grab headlines and policymakers’ attention. Here’s an overview of where we are on the various files. Mercosur EU-Mercosur FTA negotiations are …