EU trade policy from a political perspective

Through trade policy the EU is a major international actor. It simultaneously seeks to extend economic liberalisation and EU preferences, including values, by leveraging its trade policy for foreign policy goals. This results in intense internal tensions in trade policy, which have been heightened by the politicisation of trade policy during the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. This chapter focuses on the evolution of these interactions. Firstly, it introduces major institutional actors involved in trade policy and their respective powers over time. It explores various explanations of the outcomes of EU trade policy in the literature informed by their respective focus on institutions, the actors and ideas underlying trade policy, and the interplay amongst these. Finally, the chapter presents pressing challenges to both the practice and study of EU trade policy in the form of novel power constellations and increased activism around trade policy that are reshaping EU trade policy.