Tagged: trade

“Global Britain” Adopts the EU’s Normative Approach to New Trade Agreements

 By Sterre van Campen and Rebecca Poort

As for now, the United Kingdom will leave the European Union on 31 October 2019, unless a withdrawal agreement is ratified before this date. The UK aims to sign “continuity” agreements with third countries to replace existing agreements with the EU before Brexit to avoid disruptions in trade flows. With smaller market leverage and under political pressure to deliver results, there would be an incentive for the UK to adopt an approach that is more lenient than the EU’s in its negotiations of post-Brexit trade agreements. There have been reports of requests from non-EU trade partners for the UK to lower its human rights standards and to soften its food standards once it is out of the EU. However, there are indications that the UK will stick to a normative approach comparable to the EU’s when it comes to development cooperation and environmental standards, as can be seen in the UK’s first continuity agreement with a group of Eastern and Southern African States,. In this post, we argue that despite the pressures, the UK does not diverge from the normative approach that the EU takes in its post-Brexit trade agreements. Continue reading →

C-337/09 P Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group (Xinanchem)

One of the most interesting and complex issues in international trade over the past decade has been how to deal with the opening Chinese market. As China has become more integrated into international markets and has joined the WTO, its trading partners have sometimes struggled with the non-market aspects of its economy. Industries hard hit by Chinese competition have argued that Chinese interference with its internal market and support for domestic companies amount to unfair trading practices, and that they should consequently be compensated or controlled. Regulators have had sympathy for these concerns, applying trade remedies like countervailing measures and anti-dumping duties to Chinese products. However, this practice has led to counter-accusations of protectionism and discrimination. The recent spate of complaints both by and against China in the WTO is evidence of this struggle.

Last week’s Xinanchem judgment, however, is a significant step along the path toward normalized trade relations between China and the EU. In this case, which Advocate General Kokott called “of fundamental importance for future trade relations between the European Union and a number of dynamic emerging countries, such as the People’s Republic of China” (AG para. 1), the Grand Chamber of the ECJ dismissed the Council’s appeal of a General Court judgment in favor of the Chinese company.

Continue reading →

EU FTA with Colombia and Peru moving forward, but still faces challenges

The long process of negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with members of the Andean Community may be winding up in the next few months. On 16 March 2012, the EU’s trade ministers authorized Trade Commissioner Karel de Gucht to sign the FTA with Colombia and Peru once it has been finalized. This means that the agreement could get the go-ahead as early as September, if the European Parliament gives its consent.

However, concerns about labor rights could stall the FTA on its way through the European Parliament. The agreement does contain commitments related to the enforcement of both labor and environmental standards. However, trade unionists and other groups are calling for a “no” on the FTA in protest against labor rights violations in Colombia.

This tension echoes the debate that has been raging in the US Congress for the past several years regarding the approval of a US FTA with Colombia. Though the US-Colombia FTA was signed in November 2006, it only received the approvial of Congress in October 2011, after the conclusion of a special Labor Action Plan to ensure protection of labor rights.

The EU-Colombia/Peru FTA is the product of negotiations that began in 2007 with the Andean Community. The broader talks were suspended in 2008 due to differences within the Andean bloc, following which the EU went on to complete negotiations only with Colombia and Peru. The FTA will remain open to signature by Ecuador and Bolivia, the two remaining members of the Andean Community.

For those who would like to read further, an extensive analysis of the agreement and its costs and benefits is available here.