The European Commission recently circulated updates on the progress seen in two different negotiating processes, specifically with Indonesia and New Zealand, earlier this month, referring to valuable advances seen in both cases. While trade talks with Indonesia have been underway for over two years, negotiations with New Zealand are in the early stages, with delegates holding their second round of talks last month. The EU is pursuing a host of bilateral trade talks with partners internationally, with processes underway in the Asia-Pacific region, Latin America, and beyond. Indonesia talks: “good progress across the board” The EU and Indonesia are looking to ink a deal that would be known as the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), an accord that would link the 28-nation European bloc with the biggest and most populous economy of the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The most recent negotiating round between them was held from 15-19 October in Palembang, Indonesia. According to a report by the European Commission, that round saw “good progress across the board, and particularly on the chapters on customs and trade facilitation, sanitary and phytosanitary issues, technical barriers to trade, and sustainable development.” Talks also covered market access offers and textual...