Open Strategic Autonomy in EU Trade Policy

Analyses the EU focus on more assertive enforcement and robust representation of interests considering its international and constitutional commitments.

This book considers the EU's recent reorientation of its trade policy towards stronger enforcement and more robust representation of its interests, and offers readers a comprehensive study of the novel tools of trade policy, considered especially in light of the EU's international and constitutional commitments and support for multilateralism.This book analyses whether the recent reorientation of EU trade policy towards stronger enforcement and more robust representation of interests, resulting in a series of new or amended legislative tools, is in conformity with the EU's international commitments, particularly WTO, FTA, environmental, and general international law, and with its multilateralist stance and underlying constitutional obligations. The analysis is also set against the consequences that would flow from within the EU legal order, providing readers with a comprehensive view of the external and internal constraints on trade policy that the EU should respect, as well as the leeway it enjoys. In case of potential tensions, it submits changes that would better balance the EU's new ambitions and international obligations. Furthermore, the book looks beyond the possible legal repercussions to consider the broader political implications of these instruments on the credibility of the EU's commitment to multilateralism and international law.