The COVID-19 crisis, reliance on global value chains, volatile dependence on Russian gas: global developments have significantly shifted the European Union’s trade discourse and policies in recent years. Many refer to this change as the “geoeconomic turn” in global trade – meaning that states increasingly attempt to use economic instruments to pursue foreign policy objectives. While states still value economic interdependence, they have become more proactive in managing its externalities and security risks.
This geoeconomic turn in global trade policymaking has changed the context in which the EU positions itself as a trade actor. However, we still know relatively little about how this situation affects Europe’s relations with developing countries. Notably, the EU has recently introduced several novel instruments, including FDI screening, the public procurement instrument, the deforestation regulation, and CBAM. To make sense of the situation, ENSURED researcher and co-coordinator Clara Weinhardt (Maastricht University) and Ferdi De Ville (Ghent University) have published a new article that analyses the potential implications of these new EU autonomous trade and investment instruments for developing countries – and how Brussels has taken these consequences into account when designing them.
To address this topic, the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung invited diplomats and experts to its Geneva office on Friday, 08. November to discuss the findings of that recent publication with Clara Weinhardt. The exchange took place under Chatham house rules and led to several key insights. Many participants pointed out that implementation challenges – especially for small and medium-sized enterprises – are likely to magnify and shape the negative economic effects that some of these instruments may have on developing countries. This is particularly the case regarding sustainability-related instruments such as the Deforestation Regulation.
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