Trade policy and non-trade policy objectives : perceptions on EU strategy

Abstract

Non-trade issues (NTIs) such as labour standards, political and civil rights and environmental protection have become important objectives in the design and implementation of the European Union’s (EU) trade policy. Almost two thirds of the EU trade agreements currently in force feature provisions on human rights and the environment, and about one third cover labour issues. The use of trade policy to attain non-trade policy objective (NTPOs) was a core dimension of the 2015 ‘Trade for All’ trade and investment strategy of the European Commission. The associated linkage between access to the EU market and the realisation of both economic and noneconomic objectives is likely to become an even more prominent feature of EU external policy under the Von der Leyen Commission given the aim of making the EU a stronger geopolitical actor.