How the EU Negotiates Trade and Democracy: The Cases of China’s Accession to the WTO and the Doha Round

Abstract: The paper explores the characteristics of the EU in international trade negotiations, using the talks about China’s accession to the WTO (1985–2001) and the Doha Development Round (1999–2007) as main case studies. These long negotiating processes permit an analysis of the influence of postmodern values, such as democracy promotion, sustainable development and human rights policies, on European trade strategies. Normative concerns play an important role in the official discourse of EU foreign policy. Based on an institutionalist theoretical framework, it will be argued that the Council and the Commission pursue a trade policy with little regard to these objectives (and also other societal interests). Contrary to rhetorical commitments by EU institutions and contrary to the claims of some leading theoretical schools, the system of decision–making in EU foreign trade policy systematically privileges strategic political and economic interests in the case of clashing objectives.On the positive side, this enables the EU to pursue consistent strategies and coherent negotiating positions, especially compared to US international trade policies.