The relationship between, on the one hand, agriculture and food production and, on the other, trade, is full of contradictions. The sector is perceived as being prone to discord and sometimes reluctant to trade agreements that would appear to benefit other industries. Yet, the agri-food industry is one of the main contributors to the European Union’s balance of trade.
What can we expect with regard to the impact of trade issues on the EU agri-food sector till the end of the year? Difficult to say. Let us examine the main building blocks step by step. Trade Disputes The tensions with the US are lingering on, with currently a lull of the sorts between past […]
Brussels, 6thFebruary 2019 As the Brexit date of 29thMarch is fast approaching without a clear prospect of an orderly exit deal, the worst case scenario of a no-deal Brexit is becoming ever more likely. Although an agreement is still possible and highly desirable, the political stalemate around the apparently intractable issue of the “backstop”, […]
The US Congress adopted a new 5-year Farm Bill that enhances the commodity programs and crop insurance tools previously available to US farmers, in a sharp contrast to the European Commission CAP proposals that drastically cut the budget and support to EU farmers. The new US Farm Bill increases support across the board. It increases […]
I – BREXIT Brexit has been a top issue of every Global Food Forum. The paper circulated last year for discussion started by stating that “The political shock of Brexit has yet to be translated in actual economic and commercial terms, but the clock is already ticking”. The clock has moved on and Brexit is […]
October 2017. The political shock of Brexit has yet to be translated in actual economic and commercial terms, but the clock is already ticking. End March the UK notified its intention to withdraw from the EU, opening up the two-year period for negotiating the terms of the withdrawal and the terms of the future EU-UK […]
The political shock of Brexit has yet to be translated in actual economic and commercial terms. The uncertainty as to which will be future model of the trade relationships between the EU and the UK is still paramount. Will we see a hard or a soft Brexit? To which degree will the UK retain access […]