Crypto News: Supply Lines: Barossa vs Bordeaux

The lively debate over who makes better wine — Europeans or Australians — is about to get more interesting.

That's because wine could soon be among the rival products that'll flow more freely between the two distant economies if officials in Brussels and Canberra can conclude a free-trade agreement by July as planned.

The sides still need to work through some of the thornier issues, but more talks are due to take place later this month. It's likely the last round before chief negotiators tackle any outstanding issues. (Read Alberto Nardelli and Jorge Valero's full story here.)

Australia is the EU's 21st-largest trading partner and a major exporter of commodities both farmed and mined. For Europe's green economy transition, the big story in a deal like this is more access to Australia's lithium and cobalt — both essential to producing renewable energy.

The EU and Australia exchanged $17.9 billion in total two-way goods trade in 2022, a 93% increase from the previous year.

Negotiators will need to focus on several difficult issues in the weeks ahead, including market access for Australian meat and dairy products or the protection of some European cheese and wines. Further progress on public procurement is also needed before sealing a deal.

Stay tuned to the developments by subscribing to Bloomberg's Brussels Edition newsletter here and to the Australia Briefing newsletter here.

Additional Reading

—Brendan Murray in London

Stumbling out of the gate | Some big disappointments in factory sentiment data have added to a darkening outlook for global trade, even as China's economic rebound is helping to sustain hopes that economies across Asia and the globe can avoid recession. The latest signals have sent the Bloomberg Trade Tracker slightly lower, with a measure of US exports slipping into below-normal territory in March. At the start of April, six measures on the Tracker were in that category while four clung to "normal" status and none were seen above their long-run normal range.

Court president | Xi Jinping is pulling out all the stops for French President Emmanuel Macron as China's leader tries to create some distance between Europe and the US in their approaches toward Beijing.
New levers | Japan's decision to join the US and Netherlands in restricting exports of chipmaking gear to China is giving the allies powerful new weapons to deploy in the escalating technology war.
Warehouse robots | Walmart is betting on greater supply-chain automation and hinting that a recent investment binge might lift profit beyond the retailer's stated long-term goals.
Shifting from China | India laid out an ambitious target to achieve $2 trillion annually in overall exports by 2030 as the South Asian country makes a renewed push to become a top choice for companies shifting manufacturing away from China.
Wind in your sales | At a Louisiana shipyard Tuesday, construction slowed so executives, politicians and reporters could tour a ship nearly as long as a football field. At the center of the activity sat the Eco Edison, an expensive sign that some companies are pressing ahead in the fledgling offshore wind industry.
Entrenching dominance | In this QuickTake, Bloomberg News looks at how Tesla's quest for cheaper batteries is buoying China. Meanwhile, a new category of range-boosting battery technology is moving into mass production for electric vehicle after 12 years of development.

Orders drop | North American heavy-truck orders fell 18% sequentially to 19,000 units in March, the lowest since July 2022, according to FTR. Weaker orders likely reflect some softening in demand and limited build slot availability, Bloomberg Intelligence says.
Trough near | Focus on cyclically rebounding chemicals demand in late 2023 is intensifying, spurred by top-level economic optimism. Risks are rising, however, that recovery slips into 2024, as inflation persists, interest rates rise and buyers balk on uncertainty that spans energy to logistics, Bloomberg Intelligence says.
Run SPLC after an equity ticker on Bloomberg to show critical data about a company's suppliers, customers and peers.
Use the AHOY function to track global commodities trade flows.
Click HERE for automated stories about supply chains.
On the Bloomberg Terminal, type NH FWV for FreightWaves content.
See BNEF for BloombergNEF's analysis of clean energy, advanced transport, digital industry, innovative materials, and commodities.

Don't keep it to yourself. Colleagues and friends can sign up here. We also publish the New Economy Daily, a briefing on the latest in global economics.

For even more: Follow @economics on Twitter and subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and gain expert analysis from exclusive subscriber-only newsletters.

How are we doing? We want to hear what you think about this newsletter. Let our trade tsar know.

Like getting this newsletter? Subscribe to Bloomberg.com for unlimited access to trusted, data-driven journalism and subscriber-only insights.

Before it's here, it's on the Bloomberg Terminal. Find out more about how the Terminal delivers information and analysis that financial professionals can't find anywhere else. Learn more.

Want to sponsor this newsletter? Get in touch here.