Brussels Briefing on Trade, all you need to know

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 April 2016.

On 18 April, will be launched the first full round of talks on an EU-Tunisia DCFTA. The negotiations, formally launched in October 2015, will now include several new elements including market access in services, public procurement, intellectual property rights, and investment protection.

On 20 April, INTA Committee members will meet with the Canadian International Trade Minister, Christina Freeland, to discuss the next steps leading to the signature of the CETA agreement. April 20 will also mark the end of the public consultations on the potential changes to EU anti-dumping procedures concerning China. A first report is expected by mid-May.

On 21 April, the question of China’s steel overcapacity in the context of Beijing’s request for market economy status will be addressed in the framework of the European Steel Day high-level conference.

On this day, Commissioner Malmstrom will meet with the Parliament’s INTA Committee to map out areas where there is still room for improvement in their bilateral cooperation.

Finally, a new TTIP week will kick off on 24 April. As part of the Hannover Trade Fair, US President Obama, German Chancellor Merkel and European Commission President Juncker will meet with hopes to pave the way for the ratification of the TTIP Agreement this year. On the next day, Michael Froman, US Trade Representative, Bernd Lange, Chair of INTA and Commissioner Malmstrom taking stock of progress achieved so far and discussing the way forward in the negotiations. Meanwhile, the 13th round of TTIP talks will start in New York City. The five-day session will cover all negotiating areas, but special focus will be put on the core element of the agreement, namely market access in goods, services and public procurement.