Trade

The outgoing European Commission has upscaled the use of unilateral trade instruments to achieve security, competitiveness and sustainability objectives. In times of environmental crises and rising geopolitical tensions, the incoming European Commission should implement the ambition to embed European trade within planetary boundaries and revive international cooperation around environmental trade goals.

On 12 June 2024, the European Commission announced additional preliminary tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles (EVs). This is based on an EU anti-subsidy investigation, which found that China is extensively subsidising its automotive sector. The United States also recently raised comparable tariffs to 100%. At the same time, some large European car manufacturers are anxious about potential retaliatory measures by China.

When governments adopt new legislation, they need to check if their plan is in line with international agreements they signed up to. Consumer and digital rights organisations from the EU and the US are concerned that rules in trade agreements could deter domestic regulation that is in the public interest. To address this, the Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung and Transatlantic Consumer Dialogue organised a discussion between NGOs, public officials, parliamentarians, and academics. The NGOs aimed to raise awareness and find solutions to prevent trade rules from discouraging government action and ensure improved protection for citizens writes Léa Auffret.

We’re at a climate tipping point, yet international trade rules remain a persistent barrier to climate action. Momentum is also quickly building toward a digital tipping point: one where Big Tech surveillance is too far out of control to reign in, and where human rights and democracy only exist at the whim of tech corporations. Recurrent trade pressures could impact the willingness of the EU and the US to take action to better protect consumers in the digital market, or even to act to fight against climate change. So how did we get here, and what role do the new US–EU cooperation venues have to play?

Pesticide use leads to residues in food to which many people are exposed – especially in the Global South. But as an import, contaminated food can also end up on European plates.