Trade

The chapter discusses the EU's role as an agent of governance in international trade relations. After providing an overview of the legal framework governing EU trade policymaking, the chapter develops a theoretically informed discussion about the actors who contribute to shaping the content of EU trade policy choices. The chapter then briefly traces the historical evolution of the EU's role as a global trade actor. This overview suggests that while the EU has long played a pivotal role as a key co-shaper of global trade rules, in the last two decades, it has adapted to the new reality of multilateral trade politics by shifting towards seeking greater trade liberalization with Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs). Finally, the chapter discusses three broad sets of transformations that have the potential to change the nature of the politics of trade in the EU and, as a result, to define new trajectories in EU trade policymaking.