From Coherence to Embeddedness? The EU’s Bilateral Trade Policy Change Since the European Green Deal

The European Green Deal led to changes in the EU’s trade policy, such as the introduction of new unilateral environmental trade instruments. But what kind of policy change has taken place on the bilateral level since the European Deal? This study situates environmental design changes of EU bilateral trade policy after the European Green Deal in a long-term perspective. Theoretically, it draws on Peter Hall’s three-level conceptualization of policy change in economic policy, which distinguishes between the settings of individual policy instruments, the mix of several policy instruments, and overarching policy paradigms. To assess change in the trade-environment nexus, the article proposes to distinguish between three broad paradigms: trade purism, trade-environment-coherence, and environmental embeddedness. It then analyses policy changes on the level of the settings of EU trade agreements as well as accompanying trade instruments such as environmental impact assessments. The findings suggest that the EGD has contributed to consolidating a longer trend in EU trade policy towards a paradigm of policy coherence but has not led to environmental embeddedness, as several areas of existing incoherence do not seem not to be addressed, such as the treatment of environmentally harmful products or the displacement of environmental impacts. The findings contribute to the literature on the role of ideas and institutions in the EU’s economic policy-making in a context of political uncertainty for international trade and environmental crises.