Geopolitics and Trade Policy in the European Union

Abstract

The geopoliticization of trade and investment policy has become a defining feature of the European Union’s (EU) external economic relations. Over the past decade, a series of geopolitical developments — ranging from the Trump administration’s “trade war” against the EU, to growing trade tensions with China, and the reorientation of supply chains in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic — have prompted European policymakers to backtrack on the EU’s long-standing commitments to open trade policies and embrace a number of unilateral and defensive initiatives which together outline an increasingly assertive policy agenda aimed, among other things, at “de-risking” from China, bolstering domestic manufacturing, and strengthening Europe’s economic resilience, while reflecting a broader geopolitical redefinition of the EU’s external economic strategy. The papers in this panel explore the causes and consequences of the EU’s increasingly pronounced geopolitical turn in EU trade policy. Yildirim et al. investigate the political economy of production relocation and the conditions under which European firms are more likely to disengage from China. Baccini and Poletti examine how individuals update trade policy preferences in response to new information about tariff consequences. Invernizzi and Freudlsperger analyse the extent to which security considerations influence EU economic policy making. In addition, historical accounts are also taken into account by the panel; Ballor and Salén investigate past European industrial policy and the role of business forums in nurturing high tech firms. Lastly, Zurstrassen traces EU steel trade policy evolution from 1970s-1980s voluntary export restraints. Together, these contributions advance our understanding of the EU’s evolving external economic strategy and the conditions under which open trade policies become contested or redefined in response to shifting geopolitical dynamics. In doing so, the papers in the panel jointly contribute to ongoing debates about the transformation of trade governance in an era of resurgent economic nationalism.

Title	Details
When and Why Do European Firms Pull Back from China?	View Paper Details
Individual Trade Preferences during Tariff Wars: Evidence from the US	View Paper Details
In Search of Unicorns: European Industrial Policy and the Geopolitics of Trade and Competition in High Tech	View Paper Details
Laboratory of Geoeconomics: EU Steel Trade Policy as a Driver of Industrial Strategic Autonomy (1970s-2025)	View Paper Details
Trading safely? How security rationales shape EU external economic policy	View Paper Details