These are crucial and challenging times for the EU’s trade policy: the EU is seeking a response to the controversial US tariffs on steel and aluminium and to the crisis of the rules-based multilateral trading system. Meanwhile, the EU is successfully strengthening the bilateral track of the common commercial policy: two new FTAs are about to be signed with Japan and Singapore, FTA negotiations with Mercosur and Mexico seem to be coming to a successful conclusion, and new talks are starting with Australia and New Zealand. Moreover, the CJEU Opinion 2/15 on the conclusion of the EU-Singapore FTA triggered a debate on the new architecture of EU FTAs, separating provisions related to investment from other trade provisions falling under the exclusive competence of the EU. Other issues such as EU-China trade and investment relations, Brexit, the Multilateral Investment Court System and the future of transatlantic trade relations will remain high on the EU’s trade agenda.

Pascal Lamy shares his insights with regard to these developments and discusses the short- and long-term challenges for the EU’s trade policy, along with Maria Åsenius, Head of Cabinet of Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmström.

If you want more information on this conference and register to it, you can visit the CEPS’ website and consult the programme, enclosed to this announcement. For more analysis of Pascal Lamy on the current functioning and challenges of the European and international trade system, you can donwload and read the Institut Jacques Delors’ publication “International Trade: Does Europe Protect?“(21/03/2018).