Tag: protectionism

Arnaud Montebourg, the newly-appointed French minister for "industrial revival" who has built a reputation for his fierce attacks against globalisation, has promised to revive old plans by Nicolas Sarkzoy for a carbon tariff at the EU's borders, an idea previously rejected as protectionist among France's European partners.

As of 1 July, Bulgarians and Romanians as well as foreigners from outside the EU will only be granted a work permit in the Netherlands under "exceptional cases," the Dutch press reported on Tuesday (12 April).

Multilateral liberalisation would be more effective in reducing trade discrimination than preferential free trade agreements, write Jagdish Bhagwati, professor of economics and law at Columbia University and senior fellow in international economics at the Council on Foreign Relations and Arvind Panagariya, professor of economics and Indian political economy at Columbia University.

Brussels-based ICT federations are in the middle of a public procurement battle with China as the country is pursuing a "protectionist" new law favouring home-grown technology over foreign innovation, according to industry insiders.

Recent moves by the Chinese government in a protectionist direction are worrying and have uncertain consequences, writes Stanley Crossick, founding chair of the European Policy Centre, in a recent post on Blogactiv.

Greek member of Parliament and former Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, Anna Diamantopoulou, told EurActiv in an interview that Europe should fight protectionism, which she sees as a ‘boomerang’ that hits back countries trying to restrict competition and free trade.

Czech Prime Minister and current EU president Mirek Topolánek warned that if the bloc's large countries like France and Germany behave in a protectionist manner, the result could be similar to the 1929 crash that preceded the Great Depression.

As MEPs, the Council and the European Commission gear up for a debate in Strasbourg this afternoon (4 February) on the impact of the economic crisis on the car industry, accusations of state aid look set to fly. EurActiv's media network in Western and Central Europe takes a look at the situation in some key countries.

The EU is seeking a common approach to tackle concerns over Sovereign Wealth Funds in Europe. The rise of these state-owned funds has caused disquiet in some member states, such as France and Germany, which have already put rules in place.

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has hit out at European governments for protecting their markets from outside competition, saying that further reforms to spur competition and strengthen the single market are needed to guarantee the long-term prosperity of all its citizens.

A Dutch court ruling to block the sale of American based LaSalle by ABN Amro is in favour of shareholders, who argued that the deal was set to fend off a rival offer by the RBS consortium. The EU called the takeover battle a 'watershed for shareholder rights'.

An EU law meant to encourage cross-border acquisitions within the bloc is failing, according to the Commission, but it is unlikely to be changed in the near future because of some member states' "over-protectionist" attitudes.

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) on 28 September 2006 ruled against the Netherlands holding a “golden share” in postal-services provider TNT.

French finance minister Thierry Breton is ready to amend France's legislation on hostile takeovers of French companies. The move is a direct result of the country's growing protectionism in the wake of Mittal's bid for Arcelor.

EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson will come forward with a proposal that would allow China-made garments blocked in customs warehouses to be freed before mid-September.