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EC launches public consultation on future trade policy
Following the ‘Europe 2020′ paper adopted by the European Commission in March this year, the Commission has now launched a broad public consultation on the future direction of EU trade policy. The consultation is intended to gather views from relevant stakeholders within the EU and in third countries regarding the rationale, scope and strategic objectives for a future EU trade policy. An ‘issues paper’ is intended to set the scene for this consultation exercise. The Commission expects to set out its policy in autumn 2010, explaining how trade policy can help achieve the objectives of the ‘Europe 2020′ Strategy. The consultation will run from 2 June 2010 to 28 July. For more information, see: trade.ec.europa.eu/doclib/html/146220.htm
G-20 agree to tackle deficits
Leaders from the world’s biggest economies agreed to a timeline for reducing their budget deficits and debt levels, as well as to plans for new regulations aimed at enabling banks to withstand severe financial crises. At a summit in Toronto over the June 26-27 weekend, the Group of 20 leading industrialised and developing countries said that solidifying the still-fragile economic recovery required governments to strike an appropriate balance between fiscal stimulus and restoring health to battered public finances. The G-20 also pledged to avoid specific protectionist policies. “We renew for a further three years, until the end of 2013, our commitment to refrain from raising barriers or imposing new barriers to investment or trade in goods and services, imposing new export restrictions or implementing World Trade Organization (WTO)-inconsistent measures to stimulate exports, and commit to rectify such measures as they arise,” said the statement, echoing a pledge from last fall’s summit in Pittsburgh. For more information, see “G-20 Compromise on Deficit Reduction, But Spectre of Mercantilism Looms”, Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest, Volume 14, Number 24: http://ictsd.org/i/news/bridgesweekly/79230/
ACP assesses the potential impact of the Lisbon Treaty on EU-ACP relations
The ACP Secretariat, together with ECDPM, organised a workshop on 27 May to discuss the impacts of the Lisbon Treaty on EU development and trade policies, including the Economic Partnership Agreements. The ACP Secretary General and Chairman of the Committee of Ambassadors stated the groups’ concerns over the impact of the Treaty on the long-term development partnership with the EU and the group’s desire for the Treaty to strengthen the key pillars of the ACP-EU partnership. They also emphasised the importance of remaining open-minded about the changing landscape of global politics and whether the purpose of the ACP grouping is still relevant to its long-term perspectives. For more information, see the ECDPM’s website at: http://www.ecdpm.org/
Food prices continue to rise
Growth in global agricultural output is expected to slow down in the coming decade, while production in Brazil, China, India, Russia and the Ukraine will likely increase, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). High food prices and market volatility, however, remain a concern for food security, according to the OECD-FAO “Agricultural Outlook 2010-2019″. OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría described this year’s report as “cautiously more positive,” in comparison with recent years. However, he warned that, given the likelihood of future shocks to the market, governments would need to implement policies to help farmers be prepared for these situations. Barring any market shocks, however, the expected slowdown in the rate of growth of agricultural yields is unlikely to steer the world off track from reaching a 70 percent increase in agricultural production. That figure is what experts have said will be necessary to sustain the world population in 2050. For more information, see: http://www.agri-outlook.org/pages/0,2987,en_36774715_36775671_1_1_1_1_1,00.html
EU report forecasts shortages of 14 critical mineral raw materials
Raw materials are an essential part of both high-tech products and every-day consumer products such as mobile phones. But their availability is increasingly under pressure according to a report by an expert group chaired by the European Commission. In the first ever overview on the state of access to raw materials in the EU, the experts identify 14 raw materials as “critical” out of 41 minerals and metals analysed. The growing demand for raw materials is driven by the growth of developing economies and new emerging technologies. The list was established in the framework of the 2008 EU Raw Materials Initiative in close cooperation with Member States and stakeholders. The results of the report will be used for the drafting of a communication on strategies to ensure access to raw materials, which the Commission will publish in the autumn. For more information, see: http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/10/263&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
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