EU External Trade

News and information about the European Union's trade policy.

EU summit ends without Canada trade deal — 21 October 2016, 18:39 CET

The signing of the EU's comprehensive trade deal with Canada continued to be held up at an EU summit in Brussels Friday by objections from Belgium's tiny region of Wallonia.

EU trade agreements in the pipeline — 20 October 2016, 23:34 CET

The Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement (CETA) is far from the only deal the EU is working on. Various deals are being negotiated all over the globe. Read on for an overview of negotiations in progress and a discussion of how it works.

Steel, market access top China-EU talks agenda — 20 October 2016, 00:26 CET

The EU and China held their 6th annual EU-China High-level Economic and Trade Dialogue in Brussels Tuesday with steel over-capacity and market access at the top of their agenda.

Give us the tools to combat unfair trade, says Brussels — 20 October 2016, 00:26 CET

The EU Commission called on Member States Wednesday to support its efforts to provide the EU with stronger and more robust defence instruments against unfair trade.

Belgium holds back EU-Canada trade deal — 19 October 2016, 22:32 CET

Agreement on a major trade deal between the EU and Canada was held up Tuesday when Belgium prevented unanimous agreement by EU ministers on its ratification.

EU-southern Africa trade partnerships come into effect — 11 October 2016, 00:46 CET

EU partnership agreements with five southern African countries - Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland - came into effect Monday, starting a new chapter in their trade relations with the EU.

EU tightens ban on equipment used for torture — 05 October 2016, 00:45 CET

The European Parliament approved Tuesday revised EU rules to prevent trade in goods and services that may contribute to torture or execution, such as electric chairs or spiked batons.

Counterfeit goods seized in EU up 15 pct in 2015 — 27 September 2016, 00:00 CET

Customs authorities across the EU seized an estimated five million more counterfeit items in 2015 than the previous year - an increase of 15%, according to new figures from the European Commission.

Indonesia, EU set date for start of timber licensing — 16 September 2016, 23:59 CET

Indonesia and the EU have agreed a November start date for issuing licences to legal timber products for export to the EU in a major milestone in the global effort to combat illegal trade in timber.

Euro-MPs back trade deal with six African countries — 15 September 2016, 12:28 CET

The European Parliament approved an agreement Wednesday granting duty-free access to the EU for products from Namibia, Mozambique, Botswana, Swaziland and Lesotho, and improved market access for South Africa.

Cotonou Partnership Agreement — 15 September 2016, 12:09 CET

The ACP-EU Partnership Agreement, signed in Cotonou in June 2000, was concluded for a 20-year period from 2000 to 2020. It is the most comprehensive partnership agreement between developing countries and the EU. Replacing the Lomé Convention, it is the framework for the European Union's relations with 79 countries from Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP). In 2010, ACP-EU cooperation has been adapted to new challenges such as climate change, food security, regional integration, State fragility and aid effectiveness. The fundamental principles of the Cotonou Agreement include equality of partners, global participation (States and non-state actors), dialogue and regionalisation. The Cotonou Agreement was designed to establish a comprehensive partnership with 3 pillars: Development cooperation; Political cooperation; Economic and trade cooperation (for the period 2000-2007).

WTO rules Russian EU pork ban illegal — 25 August 2016, 00:51 CET

Russia's import ban on live pigs, fresh pork and other pig products from the EU was declared illegal by the World Trade Organization Friday in the light of international trade rules.

EU takes action at WTO over Chinese raw materials — 01 August 2016, 23:57 CET

The European Union has launched its third action against China at the World Trade Organization, this time against Chinese restrictions on export of raw materials essential for European industries.

Agri-food trade report 2015: EU is world's top exporter — 14 July 2016, 22:40 CET

The EU confirmed its position as number one agri-food exporter worldwide as agri-food exports reached EUR 129 billion in 2015 - more than 7 per cent of all goods exported from the EU.

Round 14 of EU - US trade talks under way — 12 July 2016, 16:27 CET

The 14th round of EU talks to agree the huge Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) free trade accord with the United States got under way in Brussels Monday.

Brussels sends Canada trade deal to EU states for ratification — 06 July 2016, 23:53 CET

The European Commission gave in to political pressure Tuesday and sent the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement between the EU and Canada to EU governments for signature.

EU agri-food trade balance hits record levels — 20 June 2016, 23:49 CET

The EU agri-food trade balance stood at a record EUR 1.5 bn in April 2016, compared to EUR 1 bn in April 2015, the European Commission announced Monday in its latest monthly statistical report.

EU agrees outline deal to curb flow in conflict minerals — 16 June 2016, 23:46 CET

The EU agreed Thursday on a framework to stop the financing of armed groups through trade in conflict minerals, following negotiations between the EU Council, Commission and Parliament.

EU and Mexico start trade and investment talks — 01 June 2016, 12:35 CET

Mexico and the European Union hailed a new page in the history of EU-Mexico relations Monday as trade and investment talks began between the two commercial partners.

G7 leaders push free trade agenda — 28 May 2016, 00:24 CET

Leaders of the G7 countries meeting at a summit in Japan reaffirmed their commitment to open and fair global trade and called for swift progress on regional trade agreements, including the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement and TTIP.

Eurozone trade surplus up to EUR 28.6 bn in March — 17 May 2016, 12:44 CET

First estimates for March show a surplus in international trade in goods for the Eurozone of EUR 28.6 bn and a EUR 7.2 bn surplus for the whole EU, according to Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.

MEPs vote against market economy status for China — 13 May 2016, 15:49 CET

EU Parliament members voted against dumping and the granting of market economy status (MES) to China Thursday. This is seen as an important signal that the EU will not grant MES so long as China fails to meet its WTO obligations.

Eurozone retail trade down 0.5 pct in March — 10 May 2016, 12:11 CET

Seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade fell by 0.5% in the eurozone in March compared with the previous month and by 0.7% in the EU28, according to estimates from Eurostat, the EU's statistical office. In February the retail trade volume rose by 0.3% in the euro

Rapid Alert System for non-food dangerous products in 2015 — 25 April 2016, 15:52 CET

The European Commission published new figures on 25 April showing that, in 2015, more than 2,000 dangerous products triggered EU-wide alerts. A key challenge is the increasing share of products bought online from outside the EU.

Chinese toys, clothing top EU's 2015 list of unsafe products — 26 April 2016, 16:37 CET

Toys and clothing top the list of dangerous products for which the EU issued Europe-wide alerts last year, with China remaining the number one country of origin for products on the EU's alert system.