MACMILLAN A Geo-Economic Turn in Trade Policy?: EU Trade Agreements in the Asia-Pacific (The European Union in International Affairs)

Contemporary trade policy is increasingly framed in geo-strategic terms. But how much of that rhetoric is reflected in actual policy choices by the EU or its trading partners? This book provides a first systematic study of the broader international context in which EU trade agreements are conceived, negotiated, and designed. Building on a refined conceptualisation of geo-economics, the book develops a cogent framework that combines insights from scholarship on the design of free trade agreements with ideas from foreign policy analysis. Empirically, the analysis focuses on the relations between the EU and the Asia-Pacific. Following the United States’ pivot to Asia and the EU’s Global Europe strategy, China’s backyard has become the main arena in which global powers’ geo-economic strategies overlap. Building on a series of case-studies, combining the perspectives from the EU and its trading partners, the book shows that the rhetoric of geo-economic competition is yet to catch up with the actual negotiation and design of free trade agreements. This volume will be of great interest to scholars, students and practitioners who want to gain a holistic understanding of contemporary trade negotiations. Review “This timely edited volume focuses on the trade preferences of systemic rivals to leverage their power differentials in the Asia-Pacific region. Focusing on how Europe pursues strategic trade agreements with Asian partners, as well as the response of the US and China to the strategic context of EU trade policy in Asia, this empirically rich edited volume covers both the negotiations as well the design of specific chapters of preferential trade agreements. While the bargaining dynamics and structural power of the US and China impact European efforts to shape market outcomes, the case studies illustrate considerable variation in terms of European market power and regulatory authority that challenges the liberal value based trade narrative. Drawing instead on a geo-economic perspective, this edited volume brings together research in international political economy and foreign policy analysis that will be of interest to scholars focused on regional studies, political economy, and international relations. It will be important for those focusing on the structural power and systemic rivalry in international trade politics in the Asia-Pacific region.” (Michelle Egan, American University) “Trade policy, long relegated to the technical realm, has recently moved to the forefront of high politics. The use of trade for geo-strategic purpose, and of economic statecraft more broadly, represents a fundamental shift in the trade policy of the European Union and opens up a new era of global uncertainty. This great volume is one of the first to address directly the recent geo-politicization of EU trade policy. It is also notable for its promising merger of the International Political Economy and Foreign Policy literatures, which often exist in their own academic silos. Bringing together an impressive roster of established and rising scholars from all around the globe, A Geo-Economic Turn in Trade Policy shine a particularly important focus on the Asia-Pacific region, which is of obvious contemporary relevance. A must-read!” (Sophie Meunier, Princeton University) From the Back Cover “Focusing on how Europe pursues strategic trade agreements with Asian partners, as well as the response of the US and China to the strategic context of EU trade policy in Asia, this empirically rich edited volume covers both the negotiations as well the design of specific chapters of preferential trade agreements. It will be important for those focusing on the structural power and systemic rivalry in international trade politics in the Asia-Pacific region.” ―Michelle Egan, American University “This great volume is one of the first to address directly the recent geo- politicization of EU trade policy. It is also notable f