EU stands by F-gas regs in face of global trade concerns

EUROPE: The European Commission has stood by the F-gas Regulation in response to increasing concerns over global trade barriers.

Responding to a written question from Slovak MEP Miriam Lexmann, Wopke Hoekstra, the Dutch commissioner responsible for climate, net zero and clean growth, insisted that the F-gas regulation delivers high ambition while respecting the EU’s international obligations.

Lexmann had raised concerns over the EU’s duty to avoid creating unnecessary trade barriers in light of disquiet in the World Trade Organisation over the European F-gas phase out and the current US trade policies.

“As F-gases are important for numerous industries within global supply chains, this regulation [EU 2024/573] prompted concerns from several World Trade Organisation (WTO) members, including the United States, Australia, Japan and Canada,” Lexmann wrote. 

“These concerns highlighted the EU’s duty to avoid creating unnecessary trade barriers under the WTO’s Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement. With the new Trump administration in the United States, the risk of protectionist policies, including retaliatory trade measures against the EU, is rising.”

In response, Hoekstra maintained that the F-gas regulation delivered high ambition, while respecting the EU’s international obligations. “The Commission is in regular contact with third countries to clarify this, both in the World Trade Organisation and through bilateral contacts,” he said.