You are reading the 15th edition of the Green Trade Network's newsletter, coordinated by IEEP; this monthly digest acts as a nexus for information and key happenings within the world of Green Trade. If this is your first time receiving it, you can find out more here and follow us on Twitter.
Amid leadership transition the EU stumbles and struggles to chart a clear course on Green Trade policies.
As the new College of Commissioners prepares to take office, European unity and the integrity of the Green Deal are already being tested by the ripple effects of EU sustainability policies with extraterritorial impacts. Last week, the Commission's President proposed a 12-month extension to the transition period of the EU Deforestation Regulation—a policy that represents a fundamental paradox. On one hand, it is a cornerstone of the Green Deal and a major step toward reducing deforestation driven by European consumption. On the other hand, it has become a key point of contention for many countries, particularly those in the Global South. These concerns were repeatedly raised during discussions I attended in September at the annual World Trade Institute forum in Bern and the WTO Public Forum in Geneva (I shared my reflections on these events via LinkedIn). The European Parliament and the Council must now vote on the proposed extension. A major risk, which GTN members will soon have the chance to discuss with Kathleen Van Brempt, Vice-President of the INTA Committee, and Bruno Tobback, a member of the ENVI and ITRE Committees, is that this extension could open Pandora’s box—potentially leading to a broader reconsideration of the regulation, starting with the scope defined in Annex 1, as suggested by some political leaders.
The Council’s highly anticipated vote on the Commission’s proposed tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, while ultimately successful, revealed deep internal divisions within the EU regarding how best to respond to competition from China. A recent report from Transport & Environment highlights that these tariffs will only strengthen the competitiveness of European manufacturers if they are accompanied by clear and ambitious CO2 emissions reduction targets— which are increasingly being challenged both politically and economically. In retaliation, China swiftly introduced countermeasures, which were promptly condemned by the EU at the WTO, signaling the onset of a new phase of heightened trade tensions with the bloc’s "systemic rival."
These escalating trade disputes, alongside growing concerns about the potential unravelling of the Green Deal, coincide with Brussels' preparations for the unveiling of the Clean Industrial Deal, a flagship legislative initiative. This initiative will require careful coordination across multiple portfolios within the Commission, particularly under the leadership of Vice Presidents Stéphane Séjourné and Teresa Ribera. The Clean Industrial Deal is seen as critical for aligning Europe's industrial policy with its sustainability goals, but it faces the challenge of balancing competitiveness with environmental imperatives. In a recent Op-ed, the directors of 10 leading sustainability think tanks urged the incoming Commission to place social equity at the center of the Clean Industrial Deal and to adopt an environmental justice framework in its forthcoming legislative agenda.
As Brussels gears up for the launch of these new initiatives, the network will have the opportunity to assess both the evolving trade dynamics and the initial policies rolled out by the new Commission at its first major public event in Brussels in early 2025. This event will serve as a platform to explore the implications of these policies for the EU’s green ambitions and trade relations. Further updates on these developments will follow in due course.
September was an eventful and dynamic month for all our members. As always, you will find below a summary of their key activities and publications. I wish you a pleasant reading.
Pierre Leturcq,
Coordinator of the Green Trade Network
News from GTN Members
Institute for European Environmental Policy - IEEP
Authors: Directors of Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP), Institute for Sustainable Development and International Relations (IDDRI), IISD Europe, The Green Tank, Association for International Affairs (AMO), Ecologic Institute, Energiaklub Climate Policy Institute, TMG Think Tank for Sustainability, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), Basque Centre for Climate Change (BC3)
Op-ed written and signed by the Directors of 10 European sustainability think tanks, members of the Think Sustainable Europe network, coordinated by IEEP, as a reply to Ursula von der Leyen’s political guidelines, as well as to the three key areas outlined in the Strategic Agenda of the European Council published in June.
Authors: Ieva Baršauskaitė, Tristan Irschlinger, Vicente Guazzini, Andrew Aziz
As INC5 approaches, governments are focusing on developing an international treaty on plastic pollution, which could enhance global ambition and foster multilateral cooperation. IISD's recent report delves into how domestic measures might create trade tensions and highlights the need for balancing trade issues in plastic pollution policy design. For an insightful overview of the main messages from this report, check out the related article.
Reports | Global Dialogue on Border Carbon Adjustments
Authors: CINDES Brasil, Preeya Mohan, Jaymieon Jagessar, Chris Aylett, Antony Froggatt, Chengkai Xie, VU Kim Ngan, NGUYEN Ngoc Ha, HOANG Thi Minh Hang, TRAN Phuong Ngoc, LE Thi Thanh Tam
IISD has recently collaborated with in-country partners to publish a series of reports on border carbon adjustments. These reports focus on four key regions: Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago,UK, Vietnam
From carbon pricing to financial incentives, governments worldwide are choosing different strategies to meet their climate targets for industry. This variety of approaches can slow investments in clean manufacturing technologies. Our new policy paper calls for an international framework that bridges these different strategies by establishing Carbon Product Requirements (CPRs) for basic materials, enabling countries to be more ambitious when setting national decarbonisation targets.
Together with the Transnational Institute and the Trade Justice Movement and in cooperation with the International Accountability Project and the Institute for Policy Studies, PowerShift e.V. has published the Global ISDS Tracker - an extensive database with information on over 1,300 ISDS cases and their backgrounds. The data provides insights into the world of ISDS claims and shows why they can be so dangerous.
Authors: Prachi Agarwal, Yohannes Ayele, Rosemarie McGarrell, Victor Murinde, Roslyn Ng’eno, Dirk Willem te Velde
The AfCFTA is set to revolutionise the continent's economic landscape. To support the effective implementation of the AfCFTA's Protocol on Investment, our new report, developed in collaboration with the AfCFTA Secretariat and SOAS University of London, sheds light on key trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) trends across the continent.
As the global economy transitions to sustainability, new trade policies may inadvertently create a "green squeeze" on Least Developed Countries (LDCs). This working paper analyses the impact of EU green measures—CBAM, EUDR and CSDDD—on LDCs and provides policy recommendations to assist them in navigating these regulations, ensuring a just and equitable transition to sustainable practices without worsening their existing challenges.
The Green Trade Network (GTN) is a group of policy experts from 25 research organisations, ranging from think tanks to NGOs and academia, conducting evidence-based research and outreach activities on the trade and environment nexus. GTN member organisations are based in 9 EU Member States and the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Switzerland. The GTN aims to collectively promote a European agenda for a better alignment of trade policies and trade-impacting measures with critical environmental and climate objectives.
Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or CINEA. Neither the European Union nor CINEA can be held responsible for them
The Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) is an independent sustainability think tank with offices in Brussels. As a not-for-profit organisation with over 40 years of experience, we are committed to advancing impact-driven sustainability policy across the EU and the world.
Institute for European Environmental Policy, Rue Joseph II 36-38, 1000, Brussels, Belgium, 022111097
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