All redactions covered by Art. 4.1(b)
Ref. Ares(2021)7553953 - 07/12/2021
Repport: 16 October – DG Sabine Weyand at BusinessEUrope International Relations Committee
Participants:
COM: Sabine Weyand (DG)
BE:
IRC (plenary session representation)
Summary:
A plenary session of the International Relations Committee (IRC) of BusinessEurope took place on 16
October 2019, at which DG Sabine Weyand was invited to participate. The discussion focussed on
the following issues:
• IRC expressed a strong interest in receiving update on the current state of play and inquired
about the future priorities on the EU Trade agenda.
• IRC highlighted the importance of maintaining a multilateral trade system based on rules and
inquired about the latest developments concerning WTO reform.
• IRC shared information about BE’s upcoming comprehensive position paper on China, which
focuses on the need to rebalance EU-China economic relations.
• IRC inquired about the prospects of a positive relaunch in EU-US trade relations while
expressing their concerns about the current state of play.
• IRC asked about an update on the bilateral relations with India, in view of their new Minister
in charge of trade and new negotiations team.
• IRC asked about the latest developments on the EU’s FTA agenda and raised particular
questions about the TSD chapters in FTAs.
• IRC stressed the importance of implementation and enforcement and inquired about the
future of the Enforcement Regulation.
• IRC inquired about the potential Carbon Border Tax and its link with existing instruments
addressing carbon leakage.
DG Weyand outlined the state of play and potential next steps on the above-mentioned issues and
responded to the questions raised by members of the IRC.