On 24 March, the Global Governance Programme webinar and RESPECT Project will host Ignacio Garcia Bercero (European Commission DG Trade Acting Director) and two other discussants (Mary E. Lovely and Simon Evenett) for a debate on the main features of the EU Trade Policy Review and how they can help meet the EU's domestic and external policy objectives.
The webinar will include a presentation of the main features of the EU Trade Policy Review Communication by Ignacio Garcia Bercero (Director, DG Trade, European Commission). Following remarks by the two discussants, Mary E. Lovely (Peterson Institute for International Economics and Syracuse University) and Simon Evenett (University of St. Gallen), registered participants will have the opportunity to ask questions and engage in a debate on the Trade Policy Review.
Trade and trade policy have long been central to realising the European Union’s integration objective and its international engagement. The Trade Policy Review undertaken by the European Commission in 2020 was premised on a need for the EU to develop a new trade policy strategy to achieve both domestic and external policy objectives, and promote greater sustainability in line with fully implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Review identifies trade as one of the EU’s most powerful tools. The Review emphasizes the need for the EU to shape ‘global rules for a more sustainable and fairer 'globalisation’, identifying six critical areas of focus, including reforming the WTO, promoting sustainable value chains,fostering regulatory cooperation, strengthening relations with partner countries as well as doing more to ensure implementation and enforcement of trade agreements. Many of these areas have been the focus of a Horizon 2020 research project, Realising Europe’s Soft Power in External Cooperation and Trade (RESPECT),that is coordinated by the EUI.