Unrivalled coverage of European trade policy
Sunday, December 9, 2018
The EU’s proposals to overhaul the World Trade Organization are gaining traction among some if its leading members. The reform momentum, triggered by the Appellate Body member nomination crisis and the United States’ unilaterally imposed tariffs on steel and aluminium, appears to have elicited a US riposte with new proposals …
Washington has hit back at five World Trade Organization members for “illegal” tariffs that were imposed on US products in response to the Trump administration’s decision to apply duties on foreign steel and aluminium. The US announcement today that it had filed five complaints targeting the EU, China, Canada, Mexico and …
The EU is stepping up the pace in bringing forward a World Trade Organization reform agenda announced this spring as the crisis over Appellate Body nominations deepens in Geneva and the world entered the turbulent waters of tit-for-tat trade retaliation in the aftermath of the US decision to impose unilateral …
This is a week of summits and negotiations: the EU will start talks with New Zealand, continue discussions with Mercosur and hold high-level meetings with China and Japan (delayed from last week). And toward the end of the week, when the World Trade Organization’s Dispute Settlement Body meets, we might …
Australia’s landmark win over Big Tobacco at the World Trade Organization paves the way for other countries to roll out similar laws requiring plain packaging for cigarettes and cigars. Yesterday’s ruling could also have implications for alcohol, sugary drinks and junk food packaging. WTO judges concluded in an 800-page …
Washington’s block of the process to fill vacant Appellate Body seats must be framed in the big picture of systemic trade distortions, says Elvire Fabry, who argues that what is at stake are the gaps in multilateral rules that allow distortions such as Chinese subsidies to state-owned enterprises. She presents …
European Commission vice president Jyrki Katainen prepared the groundwork for an EU-China summit in mid-July during today’s high-level economic and trade dialogue meeting in Beijing. The dialogue, initially set up in 2008, has never been much more than a talking shop. But it looks like this time could be different. …
The year-long stalemate over the process to appoint Appellate Body members is debilitating the World Trade Organization’s top court and may eventually lead to a paralysis that would have “profound implications” on panel proceedings as well, says Appellate Body Chairman Ujal Singh Bhatia.
A top European Commission trade official painted a bleak picture of transatlantic relations to a European Parliament committee today, saying US import duties on steel and aluminium as well as possible tariffs on foreign cars and car parts are “clearly detrimental” and potentially catastrophic for world trade. The outlook …
So far, six World Trade Organization members have lodged complaints challenging President Donald Trump’s assertion that tariffs on steel and aluminium are needed to protect US national security. They are broadly similar, but hardly identical, and some of the differences are quite noteworthy. More members have ganged together in …
