Chris Horseman

Study commissioned by European Parliament says EU should explore "the feasibility of concluding a free trade
agreement, instead of a bilateral investment agreement, with Taiwan". If that fails, EU and Taiwan should both join CPTPP www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etud...

Making international trade work properly: conformity assessment It is important that manufacturers of industrial goods comply with international standards, and that compliance is verified. The issue of mutual recognition of conformity assessment comes into play fo

Everything you didn't know you needed to know about conformity assessment in the EU and UK!

Don't miss the latest episode of the Trade Bites podcast - out now!

soundcloud.com/uktpo-tradeb...

Evidently there's most than one way of 'fasting'..... :-)

Autumn preview: EU to focus on trade diversification - Borderlex Borderlex's curtain raiser to EU trade policy in autumn 2025

My preview for what the autumn holds in EU trade policy. Spoiler: tariffs may feature borderlex.net/2025/08/26/b...

WTO panel rules EU biodiesel duties on Indonesia unlawful - Borderlex The European Union acted unlawfully in imposing countervailing duties on imports of Indonesian biodiesel, a World Trade Organization dispute settlement panel ruled today.

Another wrinkle in the EU-Indonesia trade relationship? By @chrishorseman.bsky.social borderlex.net/2025/08/22/w...

Perhaps Trump remembers that the US basically started World War Two by recklessly attacking Japan at Pearl Harbor….

Switzerland shocked by 39% US tariffs - Borderlex Switzerland faces tariffs of 39% on its exports to the US from 7 August – one of the highest rates imposed on any country.

Today is US tariff day.

It's definitely not a good day for Switzerland....

🇨🇭 🇺🇸

@chrishorseman.bsky.social on the Swiss "shock" of facing 39% duties to exports to the US

borderlex.net/2025/08/01/s...

Preliminary talks are 'coalescing' around digital trade as a possible area where the EU and the CPTPP could do a deal to show that international trade cooperation ain't dead yet...

My piece for Borderlex: 👇

US trade policy in the first 6 months of Trump's second term July 20, 2025, is six months since Trump’s inauguration for a second term in the White House. Since then, all previous norms of trade engagement have gone out of the window with the imposition (or thr

Is there method in Trump's tariff madness?

The verdict from my excellent guests on the latest @thecitp.bsky.social Trade Bites podcast? "Sort of..." :-)

Thanks to Meredith Crowley, @sjrickard.bsky.social and @chadpbown.com for their insights.

You can listen here:
soundcloud.com/uktpo-tradeb...

UK-EU agrifood (SPS) negotiations In May, Keir Starmer and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen launched a reset of the EU-UK relationship which included an agreement to begin negotiations on a deal on agri-food standard

What could a new EU-UK agri-food deal really mean?
Our latest podcast unpacks the potential pitfalls for UK-EU, what it all means for Northern Ireland trade & agri-food deals with other countries 👉 on.soundcloud.com/WqBH9mpGBEYr...
@emilylydgate.bsky.social @chrishorseman.bsky.social @borderlex.net

Captain's log supplementary , stardate 09.47: It's now up! Hoorah.... :-)

DBT press release: "The Trade Strategy will be published 09.15 Thursday 26 June here..."

Thursday, 09.41, gov.uk website: "Page Not Found".

This is at least consistent with UK having joined the MPIA trade dispute arbitration system five years late. (Hope we don't have to wait that long...)

The UK is to join the MPIA - the WTO's voluntary alternative to the defunct Appellate Body.

Britain took its time - it's now five years since MPIA was launched.

Seems London is now finally convinced that the formal WTO dispute settlement reform process is a dead parrot.

It's a pain in the butt when you're supposed to be concentrating on your work, though!

One of the most interesting and topical Trade Bites discussions yet! My thanks to our excellent contributors. 👍

📢 Borderlex event || Book Talk with Ben Chu – Exile Economics – 19 June 2025, London 🇬🇧

👉 Come & chat about what shapes today’s trade policy with BBC's Ben Chu‬, author of Exile Economics: What Happens if Globalisation Fails

Free but registration required ↓
borderlex.net/2025/06/02/b...

Is it also not worth supermarkets’ while to distinguish between U.K.-made stuff and EU-made? I assume not… despite the illogicality of putting ‘not for EU’ on the latter…..?

World Trading System The US has re-set its tariffs on goods imports according to a formula based on the size of that country’s trade surplus with the US – a move which has thrown all previous norms out the window. We are

Where do recent developments such as the #UStariffs leave the global trading system? Is the @wto.org and the rules-based system that it oversees, now dead? Joining our host @chrishorseman.bsky.social are Jennifer Hillman, L. Alan Winters and Farisa Zarin 👉 soundcloud.com/uktpo-tradeb...

EU-UK reset deal incoming at around lunchtime today:

12-year rollover of fish access rights
SPS deal (unclear how much detail still to be agreed)
EU and UK ETS schemes linked, with mutual CBAM exemption
Youth exchange deal
Return to pre-Brexit style electricity interchange

The world needs more of this and less of most other things

UK-India FTA This podcast looks at the recently concluded UK-India free trade agreement deal and the impact for UK exporters now that India’s high tariffs on goods like cars and Scotch whisky will be reduced, and

In case you missed it last week - the latest Trade Bites podcast offers a great opportunity to get the lowdown on the new UK-India FTA.

With rich insights from @amritasaha.bsky.social, @achyuthanil.bsky.social, Abhijit Das and Emily Weaver Roads.

soundcloud.com/uktpo-tradeb...

In the latest @thecitp.bsky.social podcast, we dive into the newly concluded #UK-#India #Trade Agreement🤝

with Abhijit Das @achyuthanil.bsky.social Emily Weaver Roads & @chrishorseman.bsky.social

Check it out
🎧 👉 lnkd.in/eJ7sHNXB

@ids.ac.uk @uktpo.org @uktradebusiness.bsky.social

So much hoping that Spain will apply reciprocal requirements for Brits living on the Costa del Sol…. 😉

The UK-India trade deal does *not* make it cheaper and easier for a number of major companies based in the UK to employ Indian workers. That is a fundamental, elementary misconception. Visa cap stays, and you have to be seconded within an Indian company. The rest is just... lies.

“Only 24 hours from Telsa….. “

Top gear or crunching gears: Trade and the auto sector When long-established international trade flows get disrupted, it's not always easy to predict the consequences. Given the adjustments that the UK is continuing to have to make as a result of leaving

How will the UK's carmakers respond to the challenges of Trump's 25% tariffs? Do they have realistic options to sell to other markets, or to relocate production?

Get a full trade policy MOT in the latest episode of Trade Bites! 👇

soundcloud.com/uktpo-tradeb...

Starmer close to EU arms deal — at the expense of fishermen British firms will be able to bid for the new €150 billion EU defence fund after the UK makes concessions on fishing quotas

An outbreak of common sense negotiating. No-one ever seriously believed the U.K. would not do a multi-year fish deal with the EU, so there was no point pretending it might not.

And the EU needs access to U.K. arms - so it’s gagner-gagner, as Macron might say …

www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/...

WTO Trade Outlook report projects 0.2% fall in global trade volumes in 2025 - its previous estimate was +2.9%.

Decline could be as much as -1.5% if full 'reciprocal' tariffs return

Region most affected by trade damage? North America - exports down 12.6%.

Still early stages in EU-US talks to avoid a trade war. The two sides are scoping options, according to the commission, despite the EU trade chief visiting Washington 3 times in last few months. All the latest below 👇🏻https://borderlex.net/2025/04/15/maros-sefcovic-in-washington-no-signs-of-deal-yet/

European Commission prepares for China import surge as US tariffs set to bite - Borderlex The European Commission and China agreed to set up a mechanism to monitor trade diversion amid fears that the United States’ tariffs would result in a surge of Chinese imports redirected to the EU.

EU-China trade tensions remain despite the Trump tariffs - but are there signs of rapprochement? And how can the EU prevent an import surge from China as a result of the Trump tariffs? My summary of where things are at between Brussels and Beijing 👇🏻 borderlex.net/2025/04/08/e...