spiritsNEWS October 2020

New Trade Commissioner, new trade strategy, same need for openness

On 7 October, MEPs approved Executive Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis’s change of portfolio, paving the way for his confirmation as Commissioner in charge of trade. His agenda is sure to be full: right now, we are grappling with an increasing number of market access barriers across the world in the midst of a global pandemic, mounting trade tensions and the risk of further escalation in transatlantic disputes and paralysis at the WTO. Furthermore, there are growing public expectations that trade agreements should also pursue environmental and social objectives. One of his first tasks as Commissioner responsible for trade will be to set the new direction for EU trade policy, with a new strategy expected to be issued early next year. As representative of significant European exporting champions, our plea to Vice President Dombrovskis is clear: the EU should remain a champion of open, rules-based international trade, resist protectionist tendencies and robustly address market access barriers, which are likely to increase in the current economic downturn. This message was at the center of our contribution to the EU trade policy review, where we insisted on the importance of trade as part of Europe’s recovery strategy, and urged the new Trade Commissioner to focus on resolving ongoing trade disputes, securing the swift ratification of negotiated deals and strictly enforcing existing agreements.

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