EU trade strategies. Between regionalism and globalism

Abstract:

Disagreements within the World Trade Organisation proliferate and bring into question the continuing viability of global solutions. This work looks at possible alternative solutions offered by the practice of interregionalism - that is economic integration between two distinct regions. It explores the interregional strategies employed by the EU in pursuing agreements with Latin America, East Asia and the Southern Mediterranean and seeks new insights into this new facet of international political economy.

The work comprises contributions from an impressive panel of international scholars in the fields of Political Science, International Studies and European Studies. These are organised over eight chapters and the first chapter provides the analytical framework for the study. Chapter two explores the EU's relations with MERCOSUR and their growing influence inside WTO negotiations. Chapter three looks to trade developments with East Asia and the nascent EU-ASEAN relationships fostered through the ASEM (Asia-Europe Meeting) process. The Euro-Mediterranean Partnership is the focus of chapter four, which looks at an area that draws together Southern Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East - bringing with it the cultural clashes between the West and Islam and the economic divide of North-South. Chapter five turns to the oldest interregional relationship of the EU, that with African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) countries, which is the most institutionalised and multidimensional interregional relationship. Chapter six discusses the newer but important relationships with countries to the east of the EU, the CEECs and CIS member states. Perhaps the most important in terms of world politics is the relationship examined in chapter seven, that between North America and the EU. The EU continues to maintain bilateral relationships with the three countries forming the North American Free Trade Area and those relationships have yet to develop at the interregional level. The final chapter reviews the arguments raised in the earlier papers and evaluates the current position with the broad conclusion that in terms of interregional development the EU is ahead in the game.

Vinod K. Aggarwal is Professor in the Department of Political Science, Affiliated Professor in the Haas School of Business, and Director of the Berkeley APEC Study Center (BASC) at the University of California, Berkeley.

Edward A. Fogarty is a doctoral candidate in Political Science at the University of California, Berkeley.