FREE TRADE OR PROTECTIONISM? TRADE BARRIERS AND TRADE POLICY OF THE EU

Abstract

For years, a number of researchers have questioned whether there is an implicit impulse for protectionism hidden behind the tariff and non-tariff liberalization clauses put forward in all new EU agreements, as well as in the Union's participation in various formats of multilateral trade negotiations. On the other hand, the introduction of protectionist measures implemented by many countries around the world is increasingly being observed. In order to summarize and clarify these trends in the development and restructuring of the global trade system and the EU's place in it, the article first summarizes some insights from economic theory and empirical research on free trade and protectionism, then it examines the pre-pandemic trade barriers vis-à-vis the EU, and finally it assesses the “new framework” of bilateral and multilateral preferential trade agreements in the EU trade policy.