Here some – selected – take-aways from this week’s International Trade Committee meetings and votes. By Rob Francis and Iana Dreyer.
European Parliament
Week in Brussels: EP TRIPS waiver, CETA architects, CETA dairy, Saudi US MEG
With trade relations with the United States and United Kingdom – via Northern Ireland – in focus this week, it’s easy to get distracted. So here other notable developments in EU trade policy this week: EP TRIPS waiver politics, MRA for architects with Canada, Canada dairy, new anti-dumping duties on …
Week in Brussels: UK Contact Group, Vietnam FTA, digital platform sellouts
European Parliament sets up new UK Contact Group; EU Vietnam civil society dialogue postponed until further notice; France, Germany and Netherlands want even tougher rules on company takeovers by digital platforms.
Van Brempt report outlines parliament position on vaccine exports, TRIPS, China
The European Parliament is preparing a report on trade policy post COVID-19. The drafting is in the hands of the Belgian S&D group member Kathleen van Brempt and will help define the parliament’s positioning in several trade policy files in the coming months. A first version of the report is …
MEPs vote on supply chain due diligence report
The European Parliament is taking a stand on what it wants from EU-wide ‘corporate due diligence’ ahead of legislation that the European Commission is yet to table in a report drafted by Lara Wolters, a Dutch MEP from the S&D group. The report is 79 pages long, has a record …
MEPs call for unilateral EU actions first before ratifying China investment agreement
The international trade committee debated the EU China Comprehensive Investment Agreement – also known as CAI – for the first time since its conclusion last December. A cross-political group consensus is emerging: the EU needs to move first in other areas of policy affecting its China economic and political relationship …
Week in Brussels: Strategic plan, lobster deal, EP on TPR, Australia, Mercosur
Good afternoon, an overview of interesting trade policy developments in Brussels this week. 35% of EU exports to be covered by trade agreements in 2024 and other strategic objectives The European Commission’s trade directorate released its 2020 ‘Strategic Plan’ this week. The document spells out how the body will approach …
INTA Chair Bernd Lange hopes for US return to multilateral system
As ballots were still being counted in the United States presidential elections, Borderlex’s Sarah Anne Aarup spoke to the European Parliament’s international trade committee chair Bernd Lange (S&D). Lange is also rapporteur on EU-United States trade relations.
EU institutions conclude deal on trade enforcement
The European Union will very soon have a revamped ‘enforcement regulation’, a hitherto hardly known legal instrument that allows the bloc to retaliate against countries contravening international trade norms and not cooperating in legal disputes and thus protect itself against ‘appeals into the void’ at the World Trade Organization. The …
Week in Brussels: New TDI cases, RoOs, Australia, sustainability debate
It looks like the EU’s ‘enforcement’ agenda for trade rules and trade agreement is now gradually being rolled out. There’s been a lot of discussion on the future direction of trade policy in the European Parliament. Find out more below! By Sarah Anne Aarup and Iana Dreyer.
