Brussels Briefing on Trade

In this latest Brussels Briefing on Trade, Joanna Sopinska – Trade Editor for EU Trade Insights, provides an overview of the EU’s most pressing trade issues in the second half of May 2016.

• On May 16, the Commission is expected to announce new transparency tools for Trade Defence Instruments (TDIs) to increase predictability for all parties involved in anti-dumping and anti-subsidy proceedings. The new transparency measures are also meant to improve awareness of the procedural aspects of cases, deadlines in particular.
• On May 20, the Commission is expected to appeal the WTO ruling on Argentina’s biodiesel case issued on 29 March 2016.
• In the week of May 23, EU and the Philippines will convene the first-ever round of negotiations on their future free trade agreement.
• On May 24, INTA Committee will hold a consent vote on the agreement on Trade and Information Technology products reached during the 10th WTO Ministerial Conference last December. The deal is set to remove customs duties on a wide range of IT goods, including medical equipment, gaming consoles, and GPS devices.
• Between May 26 and June 3, TiSA negotiators will hold the 18th round of negotiations in Geneva. The round will coincide with the TiSA ministerial meeting scheduled for 1 June in Paris.