The Hungarian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Péter Szijjártó, will chair the ‘Trade’ Council on Thursday 21 November in Brussels. As usual, participants will discuss the future of EU trade policy and the state of play at the World Trade Organization (WTO). They will also look at EU-US relations, a few weeks after Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential elections.
On this point, it will be a question for Member States of recalling the importance of ties with Washington, but also of taking stock of the current situation and of the prospects for trade. While Donald Trump has promised to increase tariffs on US imports, there is no question for the time being of discussing response measures, according to two diplomats. They say it is too early to do that. According to them, Member States will also stress the need to maintain an open dialogue with the new administration.
The Council will discuss the future of the EU’s trade policy more broadly, especially in the context of a new Commission that is due to take office shortly. This is therefore an opportunity for Member States to set out their expectations for this new mandate. For his part, the European Commissioner for Trade, Valdis Dombrovskis, will present the status of the various trade agreement negotiations, in particular those with Mercosur (see EUROPE 13527/5).
Over lunch, ministers will discuss WTO reform and take stock of work on this subject in Geneva. At the last WTO ministerial meetings, WTO members committed themselves to concluding the reform of the organisation, including its dispute settlement system, by 2024. However, the results have yet to be seen.
In a speech in Geneva on 1 November, the President of the European Council, Charles Michel, reiterated the urgency of moving the work forward. “The EU and most of the G20 members support an ambitious reform that retains the flagship principles of 1995, which include the right to appeal to an impartial decision-making body. The clock is ticking”, he said.
Finally, Sweden has asked for an item to be added to the agenda for ministers on Thursday: the increase in tariffs for certain imports from Russia and Belarus. Stockholm sent a letter to this effect to the European Commission on 8 November, along with seven other countries (see EUROPE 13521/4). (Original version in French by Léa Marchal)