After a few weeks of being fairly quiet, think tanks doing things on trade policy have been churning out reports again – long or short – on some big-ticket items: WTO reform, EU data flows and EU Turkey relations.
Turkey & Med
Blog: Roundup on EU FTAs and digital partnerships
Wonder where we are in a range of free trade agreement negotiations of the EU? Here’s a short update on selected trade agreements.
Week in Brussels: Israel, Vietnam, TSD
We are entering the thick of the autumn and trade policy activity is at its highest for many months in Brussels.
Perspectives: How the European Political Community can address trade issues
Leaders from 44 countries are holding an inaugural European Political Community meeting in Prague this week. The new forum could provide a setting for continent-wide dialogue and cooperation on critical trade issues linked to today’s challenges in the area of supply chain resilience or digital.
Arbitrators issue first post-Appellate Body report in Geneva
Appeal arbitrators issued the first ruling that follows the demise of the Appellate Body in late 2019 at the World Trade Organization. The format and content of the award give an initial indication of what the future of WTO dispute settlement might be.
Perspectives: Ukraine and the renewal of EU trade and neighbourhood policy
The desire of an invaded Ukraine to join the EU has reawakened debate on an enlargement process that was largely stuck. The varied global responses to Russia’s aggression demand a similar reconsideration of the EU’s trade narrative.
WTO panel lenient on EU steel safeguard
Part Two of the recent Turkey-EU trade dispute settlement saga around pharmaceuticals and steel is ending today with a panel report that goes easy on Brussels in its handling of its 2018 steel safeguard measure. Even if the panel did not give the EU a clean slate in the way …
WTO: Turkey to appeal EU pharma case win in ad hoc arbitration mechanism
The MPIA will once again have to wait. But Turkey and the EU are setting a precedent by using an alternative World Trade Organization appeals mechanism to settle their legal scores as the appellate body continues to lie dormant.
Week in Brussels: CBAM controversy, anti-coercion instrument, EP Africa report
While – quite understandably – much attention was paid to the fallout of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the traditional trade policy churn in Brussels did not stop. Selected updates below, by Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
Week in Brussels: French presidency programme, Cross Channel food trade, Lithuania, Turkey
The trade policy world was comparatively quiet in Brussels as the Christmas break continued for many in the EU bubble in this first week of January 2022. More on what happened this week in EU trade by Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer below.
