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Perhaps the keyword is not so much 'protectionism', but rather 'assertiveness'

Column

Is EU trade policy becoming protectionist?

A multipolar world is less likely to be multilateral.

The EU has benefitted since its inception from multilateralism. Data testifies to this: according to the World Bank, in 2022, trade over GDP in the EU was 106 percent, well above 38 percent in China and 25 percent in the United States.

EU member states have been so aware of the benefits of free trade that one of the first areas where they made the decision to pool their sovereignty was precisely trade policy, which is an excl...

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Disclaimer

The views expressed in this opinion piece are the author’s, not those of EUobserver

Author Bio

Judith Arnal is a Spanish economist with the Real Instituto Elcano think-tank and the Centre for European Policy Studies.

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