The European Commission launched today (Thursday 28 February), an anti-dumping investigation into imports of solar glass from China. According to the relevant official announcement, “The initiation is based on a complaint lodged by the association European Union ProSun Glass, which claims solar glass from China is being dumped in the EU at prices below market […]Commission considers anti-dumping duty on Chinese solar glass imports
February 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
The European Commission launched today (Thursday 28 February), an anti-dumping investigation into imports of solar glass from China. According to the relevant official announcement, “The initiation is based on a complaint lodged by the association European Union ProSun Glass, which claims solar glass from China is being dumped in the EU at prices below market […]EU Commission closer to imposing anti-dumping duties on Chinese solar panel imports?
February 27, 2013 by 1 Comment
According to well-informed Brussels sources, the European Commission secured last week a non-binding authorisation by the EU member states, to impose anti-dumping measures on imports of solar panels and components originating from China. The same sources say, however, that the Commission denied that this will lead to an immediate imposition of such measures and characterised […]An FTA between EU-US to hurt South Korea
February 25, 2013 by 1 Comment
Ten days ago, Brussels and Washington issued a joint statement signed by three Presidents, namely the US leader Barack Obama, the European Council President Herman Van Rompuy and European Commission President José Manuel Barroso. With it, the EU and the US announced their decision to conclude a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by the end […]EU Parliament raises burning issues over the FTA with the US
February 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Yesterday, the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee discussed for the first time, the much advertised joint announcement by the EU and the US, to start negotiations for the conclusion of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement. As the European Sting predicted the FTA negotiators would be confronted with two very old and very thorny issues. According […]The US reject EU proposal for prudential financial controls
February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The North Atlantic economic volume, comprising mainly Eurozone and Britain on the one side and US and Canada on the other constitute the largest almost uniform playfield. Of the two sides, however, the more dependant on the rest of the world is the American one and more precisely the US, with its huge double deficits, […]The European Parliament floating over the South China Sea
February 18, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A group of European Parliament members, representing the House Delegation for South East Asia and the ASEAN countries (DASE), while visiting the Philippines last week said, they support the country’s move to refer territorial differences over the South China Sea to United Nations. Those differences involve six countries of the region the Philippines, China, Vietnam, […]Does the EU want GMOs and meat with hormones from the US?
February 11, 2013 by 2 Comments
The prospective drafting of a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the European Union and the United States is developing into a major issue and as things evolved last week, it seems that this may lead the EU into a new division, between France on the one side and the free trade lovers Britain and […]EU-China relations under investigation?
February 5, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Out of the last ten ongoing European Union’s Trade Defence Investigations, pending a decision by the European Commission or the Council of the European Union, six of them have as a target products originating from the Peoples’ Republic of China imported in the EU. Most important of them are the Stainless steel fittings, the Solar […]EU presses India for a free trade agreement
February 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
India is the most populous democracy of the world and over the past thirty years had to overcome a universe of political and economic problems. For decades the country followed an inward looking politico-economic strategy, keeping its trade and investment borders almost shut to the rest of the world. Its vast size permitted that up […]Everybody against Japan over yen’s devaluation
January 28, 2013 by 2 Comments
Yesterday, Jörg Asmussen, Member of the ECB’s Executive Board speaking in an interview to a Greek newspaper said, that the issue of the Japanese yen devaluation should be referred to the G7 and the G20 councils. He added that if each-one goes for himself with national currency competitive devaluations, the outcome will be catastrophic for […]Can the EU afford a trade war with China?
January 28, 2013 by 1 Comment
Last week the Chinese Ministry of Commerce announced the imposition of anti-dumping duties on two products originating from the EU and the US. Imports into China of the widely used solvents ethylene glycol monobutyl and diethylene glycol monobutyl ethers, produced by a number of European and American companies, will be penalised with anti-dumping duties ranging […]EU out to conquer African Union summit
January 26, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission will be represented in force at the African Union (AU) summit of African heads of state and government to be held on 27–28 January. Among other dignitaries from Brussels and other EU capitals, EU Development Commissioner Andris Piebalgs will be also present in this African summit. But what will he be carrying […]EU, Brazil to hold high level Summit in Brasilia
January 22, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Union and Brazil are holding a bilateral Summit in Brasilia on 24 January. Already from 2007 the EU and the largest South American country have established a strategic partnership in recognition of both sides’ political and economic importance. According to a Commission Press release, bilateral Summits are held annually and focus on key […]China repels EU allegations of export subsidies
January 21, 2013 by Leave a Comment
A statement by the head of the EU Mission in Beijing, Markus Ederer, that the EU is not looking to start a trade war with China over dumping pricing or illegal subsidies, does not make good sense. His comments are contradictory to the fact that the Commission has launched aggressive investigations on two very important […]The West unites against Mali desert rebels
January 18, 2013 by 1 Comment
It was very characteristic that the European Commission press release issued yesterday about the EU’s support for the French military operations in Mali was available only in the French language. On the same day 17 January the Council of the European Union found the opportunity to announce the opening an EU military training mission in […]Chinese economy to raise speed and help the world grow
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
According to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the Chinese economy is bound to resume in strength in 2013 and attain an enviable 8.5% growth rate, after a relatively slow year in 2012, when it marked its slowest yearly GDP increase for years at 7.5%. OECD insists however that the relative slow-down of […]The European Parliament fails to really restrict the rating agencies
January 17, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Parliament adopted yesterday tougher rules for the issuance of creditworthiness ratings on governments and private businesses by the relevant agencies. Obviously the new legislation was voted in relation with and aims to set new restrictions on the activities of the three largest of them, namely Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch IBCA. But […]Can the Americans alone determine the future of Syria?
January 14, 2013 by 1 Comment
The last speech of Bashar al Assad on the first Friday of New Year, which deeply disappointed the West and the Sunni Arabs in the oil rich countries of the Persian Gulf, was about an all-out war. He spoke of “a full scale war” against the enemies of his regime, mainly the Sunni Muslims. But […]Dark spots on EU humanitarian aid spending
January 12, 2013 by Leave a Comment
The European Commission published an announcement on Thursday 10 January to inform us all, “Where the European Commission’s humanitarian aid will go in 2013”. A lot of people went through the text and what they got was just general information on how much money will go to a number of Sub Saharan African countries.Only one […]Draghi hands over to banks €77.7 billion more
January 10, 2013 by 1 Comment
The European Central Bank lent but in reality handed over yesterday 9 January a total amount of €77.7 billion to a number of Eurozone banks, under an arrangement called Main Refinancing Operation (MRO) at the negligible interest rate of 0.7% for a duration of 7 days. This is however the upper side of the iceberg. It’s […]Japan to invest in euro values
January 8, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Japanese minister of Finance Taro Aso early on Tuesday 8 January said his country will invest some of its huge foreign reserves in European Stability Mechanism debt paper. Japan is second only to China in foreign-exchange reserves with $1,274,160 million. Chinese foreign reserves are anything around $3.2 trillion. Almost instantly after the Taro statement the […]Chinese “BeiDou” GPS goes to market
January 6, 2013 by Leave a Comment
Towards the end of last year Beijing announced the opening of its Geostatic Positioning System for civic and commercial users in the region of Asia and Pacific, adding that the China Satellite Navigation Office is working fast to extend the area covered by this satellite umbrella named “BeiDou”. A GPS system “provides location and time information […]Should Europe be afraid of the developing world?
January 4, 2013 by Leave a Comment
China and India are undoubtedly the two heavyweights of the developing world. On their foot-steps one can categorise also Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and some more countries of South East Asia. Yes, those are the tigers of growth, based on the iron willingness of their people to secure a more or less comfortable life, after […]The Chinese solar panels suddenly became too cheap for Europe
December 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
On 6 September 2012 the European Commission introduced an anti-dumping investigation on imports of solar panels and components originating from China. Understandably the present market conditions, including selling prices of solar panels in the European Union, have been there for many years. More than ten. That is, from the moment that a number of EU […]Huawei answers allegations about its selling prices
December 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Two major Chinese providers of mobile phone equipment, Huawei Technologies Co. and the smaller ZTE Corporation, according to a Wall Street Journal report are under scrutiny by the European Commission, for allegedly offering their products at dumping prices. This report is still unconfirmed by the EU authorities. Its wording though is very carefully chosen by […]Is Erdogan losing game and match within and without Turkey?
December 19, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The Turkish candidacy for full EU membership, get caught in the Cypriot problem or at least this is what the average technocrat in every European Foreign ministry will tell you. But people, who are implicated in the whole affair, are insisting that this is what Ankara wants everybody else to believe. In reality however it […]Where is heading Putin’s Russia?
December 18, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Russia is the third trading partner of the EU and the EU is the first trading partner of Russia. This simple fact tells the whole story, about the relations between the two largest economic volumes of the Old Continent. Not much of Europe is left outside the two heavyweights. Energy, food, machinery and equipment, raw […]South Korea: A cherished partner for the EU
December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
South Korea or the Republic of Korea (RoK) is a privileged trading partner of the European Union. The Free Trade Agreement the two sides have concluded was signed on 6 October 2010 and entered into force in July 2011. This FTA was the first one the European Union penned down with an Asian nation and the […]The success story of a Chinese investment in the Greek port of Piraeus
December 12, 2012 by Leave a Comment
It took the Chinese maritime and port operator giant Cosco almost ten years, to sign and implement an agreement with the Greek authorities. The project was to realise a large investment for a container terminal in the port of Piraeus. Judged by Greek standards ten years to approve a major foreign investment might not be a […]EU to negotiate an FTA with Japan
November 30, 2012 by Leave a Comment
On 29 November 2012 the European Council decided to give the Commission ‘the green light’, to start trade negotiations with Japan, aiming at the conclusion of a Free Trade Agreement between the two sides. As Sting has already noticed the EU has embarked over the past few years on a huge operation, to conclude FTAs with […]Free trade agreement between EU and India?
November 28, 2012 by Leave a Comment
After the World Trade Organisation talks over the Doha Round collapsed and the achievement of a major reform of the international trading system became a distant dream, the European Union introduced a package of talks to negotiate Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with its major trading partners in the developing world. A cornerstone in this […]Two women threaten to tear the world apart
November 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The women’s lib movement can be very proud nowadays. Suffragettes must be very happy. Their kind in a few decades managed not only to vote but to hold in their hands the fate of the globe. All that because this week became clear that Christine Lagarde, heading the International Monetary Fund and Angela Merkel, leader […]The three US financial war fleets
November 20, 2012 by Leave a Comment
The three American creditworthiness “musketeers”, Standard and Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch are the modern times landing crafts that Washington employs whenever the US want to debark on the European financial shores. Over the past years every time that the Eurozone is about to make a crucial decision to solve or at least alleviate the […]
