Austria is the country in which public opinion least supports TTIP in the EU, with the latest Barometer poll putting opposition to TTIP at close to two thirds. As one of the few EU member states not members of NATO, and also known for having a soft spot for Russia …
North America
Visas are casting a potential shadow over CETA ratification and TTIP in the EU
The European Commission is considering whether to make US and Canadian citizens apply for visas before travelling to the EU because they continue to require visas for nationals of some countries of the Union, notably from Central and Eastern Europe and from Cyprus. With the current trend of having …
US offers waiver to “Buy American” for TPP parties
The US has just changed its 1979 Trade Agreements Act to accommodate the Transpacific Partnership Agreement, we learn from Jean Herman Grier, a public procurement expert in Washington. Grier explains that the change will “permit the President to designate products from TPP parties as eligible for a waiver of …
Commission’s Demarty tells French national assembly GI pillar in TTIP would be not “as good” as with Canada
During a hearing at the French National Assembly on Tuesday (5 April) in Paris, the EU Commission’s Director General for Trade Jean-Luc Demarty told members of the legislative body’s committee on European affairs that the EU was intending to conclude TTIP negotiations under the Obama administration, provided that the deal …
USTR National Trade Estimate Report chides EU standardisation and assessment procedures as trade barriers
The US Trade Representative has just released its annual more than 400-page National Trade Estimate. The report provides an overview of what US firms see as the key trade barriers they face abroad. This year’s NTE report makes for interesting reading in the context of ongoing TTIP negotiations. The …
Opening up Mexican government procurement like in CETA? Not so fast – expert
The EU and Mexico are planning to launch free trade talks to update their 2001 Association Agreement. Both sides see the need to do so as both have embarked on new-generation free trade agreements that might negatively affect bilateral business if the gap in rules is not addressed: the EU …
TTIP: overview of key EU proposals in freshly released texts
We have gone through some of the texts published by the EU Commission over the last days. Little of it is actually surprising, but the texts confirm what one could only infer so far. Trade in goods Tariffs: The EU does not want to liberalise all tariffs. It …
New TTIP texts released
The Commission has published a few new TTIP documents on its website today. Among these, its proposal on geographical indications, including a list of 22 spirits it wants to add on the list of the GIs protected under the 1994 US-EU agreement on the topic, and fifteen pages of …
EU in Latin America trade push
The EU is in a drive to deepen trade ties with Latin America. It is eager to do business with Cuba, and on the cusp of relaunching negotiations with Mercosur. We start knowing what the some mutual commercial stakes are in key talks to be launched with Mexico and Chile. By …
TTIP: EU not happy with US procurement offer
The rumour has it Cecilia Malmström is likely to ask the US to go back to the drawing table on public procurement as part of talks ongoing in Washington and ahead of a stock-take meeting with USTR Michael Froman on Friday. The EU’s dissatisfaction and move was entirely predictable …
