ABSTRACT
This chapter is looking at the impact of RCEP – to a certain extent the proxy of Asia’s and the Indo-Pacific’s economic dynamism and the progressing discriminatory trade agreements in the region – on European foreign trade policy and on Europe’s own regionalisation process (2000–2020). In this endeavour, the author adopts a European perspective. The structure of the chapter is as follows: subsequent to the introduction, a more general description of the changes and the evolvement of the EU’s trade and investment policies in the first two decades of the millennium is necessary to understand its internal dynamics and driving forces. Third, the EU’s trade policy on Asia will be outlined. Fourth, opportunities and risks emanating from RCEP will be analysed. The analysis of this chapter has been completed in July 2022.
