Growing trade restrictions may reverse economic integration and undermine the cooperation needed to protect against new shocks and address global challenges. In a shock-prone world, economies must be more resilient—individually and collectively. Cooperation is critical, but greater protectionism could lead to fragmentation, and even split nations into rival blocs just as fresh shocks expose the global economy's fragility. While estimates of the cost of fragmentation vary, greater international trade restrictions could reduce global economic output by as much as 7 percent...

Read more

The European Commission adopted today the rules governing the implementation of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) during its transitional phase, which starts on 1 October of this year and runs until the end of 2025. The Implementing Regulation published today details the transitional reporting obligations for EU importers of CBAM goods, as well as the transitional methodology for calculating embedded emissions released during the production process of CBAM goods. In the CBAM's transitional phase, traders will only have to report...

Read more

A new law to ensure that batteries are collected, reused and recycled in Europe is entering into force today. The new Batteries Regulation will ensure that, in the future, batteries have a low carbon footprint, use minimal harmful substances, need less raw materials from non-EU countries, and are collected, reused and recycled to a high degree in Europe. This will support the shift to a circular economy, increase security of supply for raw materials and energy, and enhance the EU’s strategic...

Read more