Abstract: The recent transatlantic trade talks between the US and EU aim to cover exclusively tariffs on industrial goods omitting agriculture which gives rise to a question regarding compatibility with the ‘substantially all the trade’ requirement under Article XXIV GATT. This blog looks closer into the elements of the ‘substantially all the trade’ test, as well… Read more »
Category: EUTIP Blog
Articles produced by ESRs
The Environmental Effects of Free Trade Agreements
Abstract: In recent years, international trade and global climate change have become closely linked. To date, due to fundamental differences, liberalizing trade and preventing global warming have proceeded on separate paths. Indeed, opening the market inevitably increases carbon footprint through the use of transportation. However, trade can also have a positive impact on the environment through… Read more »
Immigrant networks and trade flows: a detective approach
‘It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data. Insensibly one begins to twist facts to suit theories, instead of theories to suit facts.’ Sherlock Holmes, A Scandal in Bohemia Abstract: In recent days, immigration is at the centre of the political debate. Nevertheless, opinions about this topic are too often founded in emotional… Read more »
The Dispute Settlement Mechanism in EU – Ukraine DCFTA: Could it be Paralyzed at the Stage of Panel Selection?
Abstract: The dispute settlement mechanisms from free trade agreements have been rarely used in practice. States preferred solving their disputes within the WTO. This, however, seems to be changing. One of the first examples indicating this change is the EU’s request for consultations with Ukraine under the EU – Ukraine DCFTA. This post describes the possible… Read more »
The Trade-Environment Linkage in the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement
Abstract: The EU’s trade policy aims to ensure that economic development goes hand in hand with sustainable development. To this end, EU FTAs contain commitments to respect multilateral environmental agreements and uphold environmental standards under all circumstances in its trading relationship with partner countries. Most recently, this can be seen in the context of the EU-Japan… Read more »
The “new” MERCOSUR Protocol on Public Procurement and its role for the EU-MERCOSUR FTA
Abstract: Public procurement has played a significant role in the internal and external trade relations of MERCOSUR. On the one hand, MERCOSUR has successfully adopted a new instrument, the Protocol on Public Procurement, with the aim of promoting regional integration and market access between its Parties. On the other, it is currently negotiating a free trade… Read more »
Agri-food Trade after Brexit: Policy Options and Role of Regulation in Future Trade Flows
Abstract: Food trade is a sensitive matter for UK’s post-Brexit food security and EU food exporters. Despite the relatively high tariffs on agricultural products compared to other sectors, the Political Declaration on the future relationship suggests the intentions of UK and EU trade negotiators to eliminate them. However, the text is more ambiguous about rules and… Read more »
The EU Enters the Geoeconomic Arena
Abstract: This post discusses the newly agreed EU legislation on an investment screening mechanism in light of the ever-increasing convergence between states’ security and economic concerns. The EU-China investment relationship is a case in point of this convergence. The ushering in of a geoeconomic era helps explain why states leverage economic interdependencies and why economic flows… Read more »
Regulatory Cooperation in the USMCA
Abstract: This blogpost has the aim to analyse the status of the Regulatory Cooperation activities in the new NAFTA – officially “USMCA”. Regulatory Cooperation did not actually work much under the previous trilateral regime, and was revised in the USMCA after Canadian initiative. Constituting a new but important part of trade liberalization, advanced Regulatory Cooperation… Read more »
A Financial Exception For Brexit? The Lesson of TTIP For Brexit Negotiations
Abstract: Brexit is destined to have a heavy impact on the cross-border regulation and supervision of financial services between the EU and the UK. Henceforth, both parties must find the right regulatory mechanism to manage their relationship in this complex field. Can a UK-EU trade agreement also discipline cross-border finance between the two parties? The present… Read more »