Following meetings with various European leaders, Indian Minister for Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal announced high-level India-U.K. and India-EU dialogues on trade and investment. In a joint U.K.-India statement Feb. 8, Goyal and Britain's Trade Secretary Liz Truss announced the launch of an Enhanced Trade Partnership between the two countries. The two met Feb. 6. The move formalizes a deal announced July 24 at the 14th meeting of the India-U.K. Joint Economic and Trade Committee, at which the respective ministers agreed on a road map on trade that would lead to a free trade agreement. The Feb. 8 announcement will serve as a springboard to future negotiations.

Germany’s economics and export control authority will stop issuing paper permits and notifications for most documents beginning March 1, a Jan. 29 notice said, according to an unofficial translation. The agency said it will issue electronic permits and notices for all trade-related documents except for certain temporary export and repeated export permits, transit permits, reexport approvals and rejections, and notices of opposition, which will continue to be issued in paper form. The agency will also issue a second copy on paper for permits if a foreign customs office will not accept an electronic version.

The European Commission sent its 2020 report on export controls of dual-use items to the European Parliament and Council on Feb. 2, detailing the changes made to the export control regime, export control contingency plans for Brexit, activities of the Dual-Use Coordination Group and EU export controls data. The report covers implementation of the regulation during 2019. Of note, the report laid out the changes to the 2019 EU control list, including new controls on dual-use items such as discrete microwave transistors, signal generators with specified “Radio Frequency modulation bandwidths,” and software designed to restore operation of microcomputers after Electromagnetic Pulse (EMP) or Electrostatic Discharge Disruption (ESD); for masks and reticles designed for optical sensors; and air-launch platforms for space launch vehicles.

The European Union and Japan expanded the number of geographical indications protected under their free trade deal and loosened restrictions on trade in cars and wine, the EU said Feb. 1. The changes, announced on the agreement's second anniversary, will protect 28 additional geographical indications for each country. The two sides also agreed to extend the list of car safety requirements that don’t require “double approvals,” making vehicle trade easier. Japan also further aligned its wine standards to those of the EU, which will allow more EU wine to access the Japanese market. In another change, the two sides said they simplified procedures for obtaining tariff preferences, making it easier for EU companies -- particularly small businesses -- to export to Japan.

The European Commission in January approved imports of five types of genetically engineered crops and renewed the authorization for three corn crops used for food and animal feed, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Foreign Agricultural Service reported Jan. 28. The approvals were off the usual EC schedule and were the ones that remained to be taken up at the end of 2020. The GE crops cover three corn types and two soybeans, USDA said, adding that the imports will be subject to the European Union’s strict labeling and traceability rules. The approvals and renewals are in effect for 10 years.

The European Union will ban imports of oysters, mussels, clams, cockles and scallops from the U.K. indefinitely, according to a Feb. 1 BBC report. The EU had introduced trade restrictions on U.K. shellfish that were expected to last until April, the report said, but a European Commission official last month told the British shellfish industry that the restrictions will remain in place longer. The ban stems from concerns that the shellfish do not meet strict EU hygiene rules, the report said. The European Commission didn’t comment.

The United Kingdom formally applied to start negotiations on its accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) -- an 11-member trade partnership that represents more than 9 trillion euros in economic activity. The inclusion of the U.K. would mark the bloc's first foray beyond the Pacific and expand CPTPP's proportion of global GDP to 16%.

The European Union recently issued guidance and Canada updated its frequently asked questions on the EU-Canada Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement. The EU guidance covers rules of origin under the deal, including the process for declaring origin and details for a range of product-specific rules. Canada on Jan. 26 updated its FAQs, detailing how Brexit will affect market access for Canadian goods, and offering information on labeling requirements, tariff rates and more.

The European Union’s new export requirements surrounding COVID-19 vaccines (see 2101270027) will not affect exports to Canada, a top EU official said. The “proposed EU measures will not affect vaccine shipments to Canada,” EU Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis told Canadian Minister of Small Business, Export Promotion and International Trade Mary Ng during a Jan. 28 conversation, according to a Global Affairs Canada readout. Ng “pressed” Dombrovskis on the “importance of ensuring that critical health and medical supply chains remain open and resilient,” GAC said.

The European Commission is investigating whether a food and snack producer violated competition rules by hindering “trade flows” in the European Union, a Jan. 28 news release said. Mondelez, one of the EU’s largest producers of chocolate, biscuits and coffee, may be restricting the “parallel trade” of its goods between member states through agreements and other “unilateral practices,” the EC said. Restrictions on parallel trade can “lead to the isolation of a national market whereby the manufacturer or supplier can charge higher prices to the detriment of consumers,” it said.