George Riddell

Announces the UK will join the Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA), a temporary arbitration arrangement for resolving appeals to WTO trade disputes, demonstrating our commitment to an effective rules-based international trading system

UK joining the MPIA (alternative to the non-functioning WTO Appellate Body).

Nice rule of law development.

H/T @georgeriddell.bsky.social

Trade war final boss: Pikachu

h/t @georgeriddell.bsky.social

www.cbp.gov/trade/priori...

That's still not how tariffs work...

EU challenges China at WTO on royalties for EU high-tech sector The European Commission has requested consultations at the World Trade Organization (WTO) aiming to remove unfair and illegal trade practices by China in the sphere of intellectual property.

EU updates a trade deal with Mexico on Friday, relaunches talks with Malaysia this morning and files a WTO case against China this afternoon.

Some nice optics of standing up for rules-based trade, no matter what effect they have in the end.

ec.europa.eu/commission/p...

a cartoon dog says squirrel to a man in glasses ALT: a cartoon dog says squirrel to a man in glasses

I'll take the blame for that one.

Very kind of @samuelmarclowe.bsky.social to include a link to my write-up of the recent Harley-Davidson ECJ ruling and why it matters in a trade war for businesses - the topic of this week's substack.

Will be significant if final agreement is reached after 20 years of negotiations.

We're into vibes based trade policy - where does a product "feel" like it comes from.

Predictability definitely been jettisoned.

Agree entirely - definitely hasn't landed.

Interested in what you think the potential sustainability points are? See one angle that you could argue for shifting production based on sustainability factors as a primary reason.

Agree, not that I've seen in the US. Would be interesting to see if it becomes an issue more than circumvention through other jurisdictions like Mexico where there's been pressure to match US tariffs.

You can see where they've pulled from previous subsidies text at the WTO and FTAs. Including how they schedule non-conforming measures which is straight from services texts.

What's your take?

It makes by brain hurt? From what I can see only Iceland and Switzerland have taken SCRM commitments. Costa Rica and NZ haven't. Even then their approaches totally different. Switzerland has done an aggregated figure while Iceland disaggregates at a product level.

Cautiously optimistic 🤞

However, still many steps to go between finalising an agreement and businesses actually getting to use it.

5/ And careful on the comms! Saying that you're relocating production because of higher tariffs could land you in trouble.

4/ Build the business case for relocation which doesn't factor into account the lower tariffs. This would need to be robust and "objective" taking into account location, fixed costs, labour, political and regulatory environment. Lots to consider when building an evidence base.

3/ Then no matter where a product is produced, it will be deemed to have "originated" for customs purposes from the original country which has had the higher tariffs imposed on it.

So what could companies do?

2/ Main point is around what justifications can businesses use if they're looking to re-locate in order to shift production to avoid higher tariffs.

EU has said that if (based on objective factors) the "primary or predominant purpose" of the relocation is to circumvent the additional duties...

Been delving into Harley-Davidson v Commission ECJ ruling from last week. Huge implications for how companies respond to potential US tariffs and retaliation from the EU.

eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-conten...

a salmon is laying on top of a counter next to a stove . ALT: a salmon is laying on top of a counter next to a stove .

So you can wear it as a hat?

Just because you can, do you ever question whether you should?

Amazing snippet via the Soapbox newsletter about a firm using 'de minimis' rules to export a helicopter to the US

I know what you'll be getting for Christmas now @explaintrade.com...

It's a problem though - I don't think I own any plain socks.

8/ Shameless plug - we have a newsletter which can deliver this straight to your inbox every fortnight.

info.ey.com/UKI-UK-FO-20...

7/ Meanwhile, the EU has formally initiated dispute settlement proceedings at the WTO over China’s provisional anti-dumping measures imposed by China on imports of European brandy.

6/ Amid news that the EU-China talks for a negotiated settlement to EU's EV AS duties not going well.

China’s has said that it is expanding the scope of its AS investigation into dairy products from the EU to cover more EU subsidies and programs in Denmark, France, Italy and the Netherlands.

5/ While ACCTS still needs to enter into force - its a great step forward and its hoped that more countries will join in due course. Certainly a bright spot against the current backdrop for those trading renewable energy and other environmental products.

4/ Costa Rica, Iceland, New Zealand and Switzerland
signed the Agreement on Climate Change, Trade and Sustainability. The agreement is the first of its kind to contain legally-binding commitments on trade and environmental issues.

3/ Customs authorities from both Switzerland and Germany have issued new guidance for companies using the PEM Convention preferential rules of origin.

Revised RoOs were due to be introduced from 1 January 2025. However, not everyone is ready. This means a parallel system will be in place for 2025.