Global Value Chains and EU–East Asia Trade: An Antidote for Geo-Economic Competition?

In the context of increasingly assertive behaviour in international trade policy, various scholars seem to agree on the presence of a ‘geoeconomic turn’ in European Union (EU) trade policy. Whilst various aspects of this turn have been studied, the way in which the EU's trade institution might have adapted to this new context remains unclear. Therefore, this article addresses the following research question: how has the Directorate‐General for Trade (DG Trade) adapted to the geoeconomic turn in international trade policy? Using an innovative historical institutionalist framework and directed content analysis, the article analyses EU official documents and 14 interviews with EU officials. We find that, despite apparent continuity, under President von der Leyen, a gradual process of institutional adaptation through different forms of layering and conversion has taken place within DG Trade, increasing the EU's geoeconomic capacities and geoeconomic thinking inside the EU's trade machinery.

show abstract

Global Value Chains and EU–East Asia Trade: An Antidote for Geo-Economic Competition?

Cited by 3 publications

References 33 publications

Geo-economic Motives and the Negotiation of Free Trade Agreements: Introduction

Geo-economic Motives and the Negotiation of Free Trade Agreements: Introduction

Geo-Economic Motives in EU FTA’s with the Asia–Pacific: More Discourse Than Design?

Inside the European Union's Trade Machinery: Institutional Changes in an Age of Geoeconomics

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About