ABSTRACT
Trade is the European Union’s most powerful external policy domain. Taking this statement as a starting point, rather than a conclusion, this chapter addresses several questions relating to Europe’s power in its common commercial policy. First, what exactly are the EU’s internal and external power resources in this domain? What factors contribute to – or qualify – Europe’s capacities to exert power in trade? Second, what about the objectives that are pursued through trade, and Europe’s effectiveness in achieving them? The discussion of the latter will pay particular attention to normative aims. Besides arguing that the EU follows a middle course between old-fashioned protectionism and unbridled free trade, Europe’s ‘harnessing globalisation’ discourse has indeed emphasised that its trade policy promotes development of the South, as well as environmental and social goals. Based on two case studies, the concluding discussion links Europe’s commitment to these objectives with the institutional setting of EU trade policymaking. It suggests that, whereas the EU has become a multilateral and liberal actor in world trade, the hybrid state of European integration constrains its capacity to advance ambitious normative objectives through trade.
