Responsible and sustainable value chains are moving up the EU policy agenda. With its Green Deal adopted in 2019 the EU aims at a more sustainable growth model and in early 2021 the EU put forward a more assertive international trade policy. Where does the mHRDD Directive fit in this flurry of EU regulations and policies? Is the EU likely to succeed in its attempt to connect trade and values? What are businesses doing or could do to support the EU? Is the EU approach to regulating supply chains and trade overly ambitious, misguided or problematic in other ways?

On 30 December 2020 the EU and China concluded in principle the negotiations for the CAI. Under the CAI, China commits to a greater market access for EU investors, makes commitments to ensure fair treatment for European companies and agrees to provisions on sustainable development, including commitments regarding forced labor and a number of International Labor Organization Conventions. Civil society has reacted critically to the deal, pointing to the weakness of the aforementioned labor rights commitments. Some commentators see the deal as untimely, as it is said that it contains too many concessions to China and should have been concluded only after closer alignment with the US Biden administration. Also in the European Parliament, which has to give its consent to the CAI, critical comments have been uttered. The recent developments in Hong Kong and the increasing international criticism regarding the Uighur may further complicate the final conclusion of the CAI. In this lecture the pros and cons of the CAI will be presented and assessed critically.

The online event will be divided into two sections, (1) ‘EU and China Investments: Right of States to Regulate’ and (2) ‘Towards Ratification by EU and China’. The first section will be discussed by Prof. Markus Krajewski, Erlangen (University of Erlangen Nuremberg) and Dr Angelos Dimopoulos (QMUL), and the second session will count with the participation of Dr Shaohua Yan (Fudan University) and Prof. Men Jing, Dalian University of Technology.

“Working with Allies”: Can the EU and US Get There on Trade?

Some of the biggest trade challenges facing both the United States and European Union require them working together: China, technology, climate, and the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, the two seem incapable of successfully resolving their own long-standing bilateral irritants, including Boeing-Airbus, agriculture, WTO dispute settlement, and most recently digital services taxes. Will they be able to push past those problems to form a common approach on their shared areas of concern?