This paper aims at evaluating whether the competition between the EU and the US in the field of trade policy is transferred at the regional level, so that each of these two global actors increases its regulatory influence. It is argued that both the EU and the US seek to "manage globalization", by exporting their respective values and standards to the rest of the world according to their respective interests, and they resort mainly to "deep" FTAs in order to serve their goals. Given the strategic relationship and the size of the economies of the EU and the US, a comparative analysis of their respective trade strategies will be undertaken, focusing on the dynamic region of East Asia. It is argued that these two actors have developed a wide network of competing and overlapping free trade agreements which can undermine or enhance the WTO.
