The European Commission has today launched a new complaints system for reporting market access barriers and breaches of Trade and Sustainable Development commitments in the EU's trade agreements and under the Generalised Scheme of Preferences. The new complaints system reflects the Commission's increased efforts to strengthen the enforcement and implementation of trade agreements. It follows the Commission's appointment in July of its first Chief Trade Enforcement Officer (CTEO) to oversee its tougher action on enforcing trade policy, as well as the Commission's...

The European Commission’s regulation increasing tariffs on U.S. exports into the EU worth $4 billion will be published in the Official Journal of the EU. The countermeasures have been agreed by EU Member States since the U.S. has not yet provided the basis for a negotiated settlement, which would include an immediate removal of U.S. tariffs on EU exports in the Airbus WTO case. The World Trade Organization (WTO) formally authorised the EU on 26 October to take such countermeasures...

Leaders from across the world offered their congratulations on Saturday, November 7 to U.S. President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. and Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, following their projected win in the 2020 presidential election. As partners with shared history and values, EU leaders were among the first to send well wishes to Biden and Harris. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said she looked forward to working with President-elect Biden, adding, “The European Union and the United States are friends...

Statement | 2 October 2020 | By Executive Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis, Commissioner-Designate for Trade Honourable Chairman, Esteemed Members of the European Parliament, I was honoured when President von der Leyen placed her trust in me to continue to lead our shared European trade agenda. I hope that at the end of this hearing, you too will feel satisfied that you can place your trust in me. Honourable members, you already know me. I have worked with this house on many...

As economies now look for paths to recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, new evidence reaffirms that policies for more open and trade-integrated economies could significantly benefit domestic competition and ultimately may help lower costs for consumers in emerging and developing economies. A recent Working Paper, building on the Regional Economic Outlook chapter on competition, competitiveness and growth in Sub-Saharan Africa, examines the effect of trade liberalization using a large firm-level dataset covering about 400,000 firms in 83 emerging and developing economies from 2000...

The European Commission today published a proposal for a Council and European Parliament regulation to scrap duties on certain imports to the EU. In return, the United States will reduce its duties on certain EU exports to the U.S. market. This will put into effect the agreement announced by the EU and the U.S. on 21 August 2020. These tariff reductions between the EU and the U.S. will increase access to both EU and U.S. markets by around €200 million per...