The United States Trade Representative’ s trade negotiating objectives with the European Union indicate bilateral talks ahead between Washington and Brussels will be difficult, if not outright impossible, to conclude.
United States & TTIP
Beyond Brussels: Venezuelan WTO challenge is latest to touch national security issue
Venezuela struck back this week against US sanctions targeting the government of President Nicolás Maduro, filing a World Trade Organization complaint that accuses Washington of imposing “coercive trade-restrictive measures on the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in the context of attempts to isolate Venezuela economically”. The dispute is the latest touching …
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 …
Brexit Notes: Transatlantic trigonometry post-Brexit
Despite their prime importance for Europe, Britain and the United States, there’s been little deep thinking about the future of transatlantic relations post-Brexit, both at the geostrategic level and at the more mundane economic level. But that is bound to change. In Britain, the focus after the 2016 referendum has mainly …
EU-US: Commission presses ahead with two negotiation mandates
The European Commission is expected to table two negotiation mandate proposals for EU member states to greenlight in the coming weeks following a bilateral meeting between trade commissioner Cecilia Malmström and her counterpart Robert Lighthizer in Washington. The bilateral gathering was a follow-up to a summit between US President Donald …
Beyond Brussels: The new US argument against the Appellate Body
The US and a dozen other World Trade Organization members have finally agreed about something concerning the Appellate Body: the WTO’s highest court has no authority to issue rulings that set a binding precedent. This issue is a non-issue in the eyes of WTO members including the EU, Canada, Japan …
Privacy Shield: Commission issues Feb 2019 deadline for permanent US Ombudsman
The European Commission is stepping up pressure on the Trump administration to fully comply with the 2016 Privacy Shield, a framework agreement that allows certified US companies to transfer personal data from EU-based citizens to the United States. The move follows on an annual review process held this autumn (see …
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. …
Beyond Brussels: WTO paints bleak trade outlook ahead of G20 summit
It comes as little surprise that the World Trade Organization expects global merchandise trade to continue decelerating in the coming months – but it’s bad news, nonetheless. Mounting trade tensions, tighter credit conditions in key markets and waning business confidence have caused export orders to fall, the WTO said in …
Beyond Brussels: US Section 301 report highlights on China
The latest US report detailing Chinese policies involving the transfer of technology, intellectual property and innovation is full of “groundless accusations”, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce. The update, which stems from the Trump administration’s Section 301 investigation, was released a day after the US proposed stepping up scrutiny of …
