Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe reaffirmed his country’s commitment to multilateralism during a summit with European Union leaders ahead of a visit to Washington on Friday. He is also enlisting the EU in his government’s new digital initiatives. Japan is chairing the G20 this year – and is enrolling Europeans …
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Week ahead in EU trade: Japan, WTO disputes
The two main meetings to look for this week in EU trade are an EU-Japan summit and the next meeting of the WTO’s dispute settlement body. Japan’s premier Shinzo Abe will be in Brussels on Thursday (25 April). EU leaders are set to “take stock of the implementation of the …
Week in Brussels: Australia and New Zealand FTAs, Cambodian textiles, US-Japan-EU trilateral
This week was dominated by news on European trade defence policy and by a shift in sentiment in Britain over a customs union with the EU – with ramifications for the Department for International Trade. Other bits of news below. EU-Australia negotiations: third round The EU and Australia held a …
A week in Brussels: BDI blasts US-EU trade talk format, trilateral, farm exports
This week has mainly been about everyone getting back to work. The EU’s top priority is the transatlantic relationship. Trade chief Cecilia Malmström, visiting Washington in the early days of January, signals just that. But were there actually any new developments this week on the planned trade deals? Not really, as …
Analysis: Japan trade vote boosts EU morale amid deepening transatlantic rift
The ratification by a large majority of MEPs of the European Union-Japan Economic Partnership agreement this week in Strasbourg is a boost to the morale of decision-makers battered by the ongoing transatlantic trade and gas ‘war’ – in which Germany is quietly starting to do some of the heavy lifting. …
Flash: EP ratifies EU Japan EPA by solid majority
The European Parliament ratified the EU Japan Economic Partnership. Outcome: 474 votes in favour, 152 votes against, 40 abstensions.
Last-minute: Plenary to vote on Japan data legislation adequacy this week
It looks as if MEPs are confident they can get the required majority to pass the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, the landmark trade deal concluded late last year between the EU and Japan, after all. The European Parliament today confirmed that a vote scheduled for Wednesday would go ahead — …
Social Democrat split casts shadow over EU-Japan EPA ratification
The European Parliament’s leaders sat down today to confirm that the EU-Japan Strategic Partnership Agreement and EU-Japan Economic Partnership were going to be put to MEPs for ratification next Wednesday in Strasbourg as planned. But persistent splits in the Socialists and Democrats group still cast a shadow over ratification.
Week ahead in EU trade: Asian FTAs, GSP, Section 232
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 …
‘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 …