EU Trade and Development Policies

Trade policy and development policy are the EU’s two most potent external policies. As such, they are central to conceptions of what kind of global actor the EU is – a civilian power, a normative power or a market power. Both policies have become contested of late. The contestation of trade policy has been partly internal, with different views among Member States, leading to questions about the EU's commitment to free trade. At the same time, external contestation has led to increased awareness of the political and security implications of trade cooperation, resulting in a ‘geopolitical turn’ in EU trade policy. Development policy, for its part, has been confronted with various challenges, some even existential. The traditional North-South divide is being reevaluated in light of evolving trends in global inequality and changes on the world stage. The rise of China and other emerging powers has drawn attention to the pursuit of strategic interests by the EU through foreign aid. The growing influence of developing countries has compelled the EU to pay more attention to the establishment of partnerships of equals. The EU also makes extensive use of trade policy to foster development, but developments in the two policies often do not push in the same direction. In light of these considerations, this section calls for submissions of papers and panels that explore three key areas: 1) Trade policy, broadly defined to encompass foreign direct investment and international regulatory competition/cooperation. 2) Development policy, including EU-Africa relations post/de-coloniality perspectives. 3) The nexus between trade and development policies, including different forms of preferential trade arrangements and the Global Gateway.