The EU is increasingly caught in the middle between the US and China’s trade wars, and needs to pick a side
Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao is set for a crunch meeting with Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis in Brussels this morning (19 September), in a last-ditch effort to prevent the EU from imposing definitive duties on China-made electric vehicles,
Brazil on Wednesday (11 September) asked the European Union not to implement regulations in its deforestation law at the end of the year as scheduled and asked for it to be revised to avoid hurting Brazilian exports.
German exporters are vacillating between hope and pessimism over the prospects of the EU striking new trade deals during the European Commission's upcoming five-year mandate, with the country's top export-driven sectors warning that the bloc must change its approach towards global partners or risks being left behind.
European Union and South American negotiators will meet on 4-6 September in Brasilia in the first in-person talks since April, raising hopes an EU-Mercosur trade deal can be concluded this year, diplomats said.
Donald Trump’s presidential campaign pledge to impose steep tariffs on Chinese goods could benefit the European economy by providing diplomatic cover for EU policymakers to introduce similar trade defences, according to Nazak Nikakhtar, a former top US trade official.
The United Arab Emirates hopes to reactivate trade talks with the European Union by the end of the year, the UAE trade minister said on Monday (22 July), and is optimistic the talks would be bilateral.
EU leaders are sounding the alarm on Europe’s industry and innovation falling behind the US and others. Europe’s economic muscles have atrophied while the United States and China are pushing the world into the next generation of innovation and industry. Deep changes are required.
The influential Brussels think-tank, Bruegel, has sent a ‘memo’ to Commission President-designate, Ursula von der Leyen, warning her of over-burdening consumers during her likely second term.
One day before the preliminary application of tariffs on electric cars from China, due on Thursday (4 July), Germany’s main car industry lobby VDA called on the EU to pull back on the tariffs, arguing that they will do more harm than good.
The European Union's growing emphasis on economic security will not unduly impact the bloc's business community or undermine the fundamental openness of Europe's economy, the EU's top trade official said on Tuesday (2 July).
A senior EU official pushed back on the IMF's recommendation that countries should pursue policies that encourage the diffusion of new technologies, arguing that the EU must sometimes introduce “protecting” measures to ensure its own economic security.
Ahead of the EU leaders’ meeting on Thursday and Friday (27-28 June), German Chancellor Olaf Scholz insisted for the next European Commission to conclude more free trade agreements (FTA) with third countries – without consensus among EU member states if need be.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz voiced hope on Monday (24 June) that EU and Chinese negotiators will reach a deal on electric vehicle (EV) tariffs before 4 July - the day European duties on Chinese carmakers are meant to come into effect.
Polish President Andrzej Duda voiced hope during a visit to Beijing on Monday (24 June) his country could boost its exports to China, just as the EU is set to begin talks with Bejing on tariffs it threatened to impose on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
The Hungarian government, which will take over the presidency of the Council of the EU next month, wants to address the EU’s currently sluggish economic development by mobilising “untapped labour potential” in the EU.
China's move to launch an investigation into EU pork imports is misguided and Bejing may come to regret it, writes John Clarke.
As widely anticipated, the week was dominated by trade tariffs headlines. Two of the European Commission's top officials - trade chief Valdis Dombrovskis and vice president Margaritis Schinas - coordinated the EU executive's announcement on Wednesday
G7 countries should work with China to put in place climate-aligned trade policies needed to accelerate global climate action, by harnessing the power of international trade to promote innovation, reduce costs, and stimulate demand for green goods, write Matt Piotrowski and Joseph Dellatte.
The EU will put additional tariffs on electric cars produced in China, the European Commission announced on Wednesday (12 June), as preliminary result of a anti-subsidy investigation showed prices being distorted by Chinese state support.
While the imposition of new tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles proves controversial within the EU due to the fear of Chinese retaliation, the option of negotiations has been met with increasing attention.
Amid growing calls for economic sanctions against Israel in view of the worsening humanitarian toll of its military operations in Gaza, EU trade ministers briefly discussed the issue on Thursday (30 May) but remained far from deciding on actual steps.
Speaking in Brussels on Tuesday (14 May), Mehmet Şimşek added that the EU and Turkey share “equal blame” for the deterioration in their relationship in recent years.
On the last leg of his European tour in Hungary, Chinese President Xi Jinping on Wednesday (8 May) is expected to tighten ties with Budapest, its closest ally in the European Union. After Paris, Xi's visits to