The Economist (October 22)
“Twentieth-century trade deals slashed tariffs. Newer ones between rich countries, such as CETA, focus on cutting other barriers to trade.” It took seven years to hammer out the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA), a trade deal that would eliminate duplicative safety checks, as well as about 99% of customs duties between the Canada and the EU. But gaining final approval of any trade deal is increasingly difficult. Last week, the regional parliament of Wallonia blocked the deal, which was estimated to “make Europe €5.8 billion a year richer.”
Tags: Barriers, Canada, CETA, Customs, Duplicative, Duties, Europe, Parliament, Safety checks, Tariffs, Trade deals, Wallonia
The Economist (December 14, 2013)
Despite its modest scope, “the first global deal since the World Trade Organisation (WTO) came into existence in 1995” is an achievement. “It includes some useful stuff: by one estimate, cutting customs red tape could raise annual global output by $400 billion, with much of the gain flowing to developing economies.” With fresh approaches, this momentum can be this leveraged to achieve other modest, but noteworthy deals.
Tags: Customs, Deal, Developing economies, Fresh approaches, Global output, Momentum, Red tape, WTO
