Africa’s logistics sector set to deliver results as free trade agreement kicks in

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Landry Signé, Senior Fellow, Global Economy and Development Program, Brookings Institution, Chido Munyati, Head of Regional Agenda, Africa, World Economic Forum Intra-African trade has long struggled to cope with the continent’s inadequate logistics and freight sector.But, as the African […]

EU and Thailand relaunch trade negotiations

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the EU and Thailand announced the relaunch of negotiations for an ambitious, modern and balanced free trade agreement (FTA), with sustainability at its core. This announcement confirms the key importance of the Indo-Pacific region for the EU trade agenda, paving the way for […]

EU-India: new Trade and Technology Council to lead on digital transformation, green technologies and trade

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the EU and India have strengthened their relationship as strategic partners by setting up a new Trade and Technology Council (TTC). The new TTC will deepen strategic engagement on trade and technology between both partners. This follows the announcement by President of the […]

Trade and Climate: EU and partner countries launch the ‘Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate’

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission, EU Member States, and 26 partners countries will launch “The Coalition of Trade Ministers on Climate”, the first Ministerial-level global forum dedicated to trade and climate and sustainable development issues. The Coalition will foster global action to promote trade policies […]

EU wins in WTO appeal about Colombian anti-dumping duties on frozen fries

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Arbitrators have in substance ruled in favour of the EU in the first WTO appeal dealt with under the ‘Multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement’, known as the ‘MPIA’. The final and binding award confirms that the anti-dumping duties imposed by Colombia on frozen fries […]

EU and Chile strengthen a comprehensive political and trade partnership

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Union and Chile have concluded negotiations on the EU-Chile Advanced Framework Agreement at a meeting between the Executive Vice-President and Commissioner for Trade Valdis Dombrovskis and the High Representative/Vice-President Josep Borrell, with the Chilean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonia Urrejola. This […]

Trade can benefit climate action, says this major report

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Jose-Antonio Monteiro, Research Economist, World Trade Organization, Ankai Xu, Research Economist, World Trade Organization Climate change is reshaping countries’ economic and trade prospects and is a major threat to future growth and prosperity. In 2022 alone, severe floods in […]

Antitrust: Commission sends Statement of Objections to Deutsche Bank and Rabobank over Euro-denominated bonds trading cartel case

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission has informed Deutsche Bank and Rabobankof its preliminary view that they breached EU antitrust rules by colluding to distort competition when trading Euro-denominated Sovereign, SSA (Supra-Sovereign, Foreign Sovereign, Sub-Sovereign/Agency), Covered and Government Guaranteed bonds. The Commission has concerns that between 2005 […]

How trade can help end plastic pollution

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Soumyajit Kar, Specialist, Sustainable Trade, World Economic Forum Government representatives are currently meeting in Uruguay to kickstart the first Intergovernmental Negotiation Committee (INC) on reaching an internationally binding treaty to end plastic pollution that the United Nations Environment […]

Trade: 6 things to know about international trade this month

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Joachim Monkelbaan, Lead, Climate Trade, World Economic Forum 1. Trade growth to slow sharply in 2023, WTO says A slowdown in global trade growth is on the horizon. Higher energy and food prices are likely to combine with […]

This is what the future of logistics looks like

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Mohamed bin Thamer Al Kaabi, Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications, Kingdom of Bahrain In today’s globalized and interconnected society, modern consumers demand goods that are both affordable and readily available at a moment’s notice. This depends on reliable […]

EU exports under Free Trade Agreements surpass €1 trillion

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. EU trade deals mean increased exports, more stable economic relations and secure access to resources, a new report out today shows. EU exports to preferential partners for the first time surpassed €1 trillion in 2021, according to the Commission’s 2nd Annual Report on the […]

EU’s trade defence measures protect over 460,000 European jobs

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the European Commission published its Annual Report on the EU’s trade defence activities of 2021. The Report concludes that 462,000 EU jobs were directly protected by the EU’s trade measures in 2021 in key EU manufacturing sectors such as aluminium, steel, ceramics and […]

Commission helps resume trade in European pork and poultry to the Republic of Korea

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. As a result of intense high-level engagement between the European Commission and the Republic of Korea, EU countries can, as of today, export pork and poultry to the Republic of Korea more easily. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of the Republic […]

EU wins WTO case against Turkey’s discriminatory practices on pharmaceuticals

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The EU welcomes today’s appeal arbitration award by the World Trade Organization (WTO) in the case the EU brought against Turkey on pharmaceutical products. The appeal award confirms the Panel’s ruling and finds that the localisation measure discriminates against foreign pharmaceutical products, as it […]

For China and the EU, Cooperation is Our Only Right Way Forward

This article was written by Mr. Peng Gang, Minister and Head of Economic and Commercial Office of the Chinese Mission to the EU. The opinions expressed in this article belong to our distinguished writer. On July 19th, the 9th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue (HED), co-chaired by China’s Vice-Premier Liu He and Executive Vice-President […]

How trade can become a gateway to climate resilience

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Molly Harriss Olson, CEO, Fairtrade Australia and New Zealand Climate change is expected to severely hamper many sectors of global trade in the near future. But, if exporting countries adopt sustainable and climate-resilient practices, global trade can be […]

WTO 12th Ministerial Conference secures key outcomes on fisheries subsidies, pandemic response, WTO reform, food security and e-commerce

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The EU welcomes the successful results in key areas of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the WTO concluded today, against a backdrop of heightened global trade tensions and a food security crisis caused by Russian’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine. Trade Ministers of the 164-member […]

Post-trade evolution means looking to the digital financial assets of tomorrow

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Michael C. Bodson, President and Chief Executive Officer, Depository Trust & Clearing (DTCC) Digitalization offers post-trade market infrastructures an opportunity to help define a new market structure. Accelerating trade settlement to trade day plus one is one current […]

How ports can be transformed into energy hubs of the future

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Jacques Vandermeiren, CEO, Port of Antwerp To create fundamental societal change to mitigate the climate crisis, we need cross-sector collaboration and collective commitment. But lack of trust in modern society is increasingly hindering this type of approach. The […]

How trade facilitation can support supply chain diversity in a post-pandemic world

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Philippe Isler, Director, Global Alliance for Trade Facilitation; ExCom Member, World Economic Forum The pandemic has exposed vulnerabilities in the global supply chain. Developing economies have been hardest hit by this disruption. Public-private efforts can help deliver trade […]

Rethinking trade’s relationship to the fight against climate change

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Mari Elka Pangestu, Managing Director, Development Policy and Partnerships, World Bank Group Cross-border trade and better integrated economies will play a key role in the global fight against climate change. Developing economies need access to supply networks for […]

Trade and security: Commission highlights work to defend EU interests and values

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The European Commission is today presenting key findings related to defending EU interests when it comes to export controls and foreign investments in the EU. The Commission screened 400 foreign investments since the new Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) screening legislation entered into force. While […]

Trade and sustainability: Commission proposes new EU Generalised Scheme of Preferences to promote sustainable development in low-income countries

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the Commission has adopted the legislative proposal for the new EU’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences (GSP) for the period 2024-2034. The Commission is proposing to improve some of the key features of the scheme to better respond to the evolving needs and challenges […]

Obsolete tech is clogging up global trade. Here’s how to unblock it

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Ryan Petersen, Founder, CEO, Flexport Outdated logistics systems are unable to keep up with increased demand for goods in the pandemic recovery. Both trade’s physical infrastructure and software systems are lagging behind. Digital technology can increase freight efficiency […]

EU-Republic of Korea trade grows twice as fast under trade agreement

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. The ten-year anniversary of the EU-Republic of Korea Trade Agreement comes with an impressive growth in bilateral trade of more than 50%, reaching over €110 billion. Trade in goods grew by 46% from 2010 to 2020, almost twice as fast as EU trade with […]

VAT: New e-commerce rules in the EU will simplify life for traders and introduce more transparency for consumers

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. New Value-Added Tax (VAT) rules for online shopping enter into force later this week as part of efforts to ensure a more level playing field for all businesses, to simplify cross-border e-commerce and to introduce greater transparency for EU shoppers when it comes to […]

EU proposes a strong multilateral trade response to the COVID-19 pandemic

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Today, the EU has submitted its proposal seeking the commitment of World Trade Organization (WTO) members for a multilateral trade action plan to expand the production of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, and ensure universal and fair access. With this proposal to the WTO, divided […]

Global trade after COVID-19: From fixed capital to human capital

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Alexis Crow, Global Head, Geopolitical Investing, PwC & Samir Saran, President, Observer Research Foundation (ORF) The current trade environment is in a state of flux – but globalization is proving to endure, despite the rising protectionism of the […]

How global trade can save lives and livelihoods – and help protect the planet

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Kate Whiting, Senior Writer, Formative Content New Director-General of the World Trade Organization, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, joined the World Economic Forum Agenda Dialogues to discuss global trade. Dr Okonjo-Iweala said vaccine policy was crucial to helping the economic recovery […]

WTO deal is within reach to remove harmful fishing subsidies and halt global fish meltdown

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Gemma Parkes, Communications Lead, Ocean Action Agenda, World Economic Forum Every year, governments around the world pump $22 billion of public money into efforts that encourage overfishing. SDG 14 has explicit target to eliminate such harmful fisheries subsidies […]

4 ways to improve trade rules and support climate action

This article is brought to you thanks to the collaboration of The European Sting with the World Economic Forum. Author: Jeroen Ouwehand, Global Senior Partner, Clifford Chance& Matthew Layton, Global Managing Partner, Clifford Chance Climate change goals require urgent global action – drawing on the brightest minds and the latest clean technology. To support this, governments must introduce […]

Strong EU trade enforcement rules enter into force

This article is brought to you in association with the European Commission. Robust new trade enforcement rules have entered into force that will further strengthen the EU’s toolbox in defending its interests. With the update of the EU’s Trade Enforcement Regulation, the EU is able to act in a broader range of circumstances. The new rules […]