17. Trade and Development Policies

2019 ◽  
pp. 253-265
Author(s):  
Michael Smith

This chapter focuses on the external economic relations of the European Union—the longest-established area of collective European international policy-making and action—and specifically on trade and development policy. The chapter begins by examining institutions and policy-making for trade, in which the Commission plays a central role in initiating and conducting policy and looks especially at the Common Commercial Policy (CCP). It goes on to examine development policy—an area of mixed competence, in which policy responsibility is shared between the EU institutions and national governments. The chapter then proceeds to explore the substance and impact of EU trade and development policies, and to assess the linkages between the two areas. The conclusions draw attention to a number of tensions and contradictions in EU trade and development policy.

Policy-Making in the European Union explores the link between the modes and mechanisms of EU policy-making and its implementation at the national level. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the financial crisis and resulting Eurozone crisis, focusing on what determines how policies are made and implemented. This includes major developments such as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the common agricultural policy, and new initiatives to promote EU energy security. In the final part, the chapters consider trends in EU policy-making and the challenges facing the EU.


Author(s):  
Michael Smith

This chapter examines the external economic relations of the European Union. It begins with a discussion of institutions and policy-making in external economic relations, focusing in particular on the Common Commercial Policy (CCP). Established by the Treaty of Rome and fully implemented in the late 1960s, the CCP is the means by which the EU manages the complex range of partnerships, negotiations, agreements, and disputes that emerge through the operation of the customs union and the single market. The chapter proceeds by exploring two areas of mixed competence, in which policy responsibility is shared between the EU institutions and national governments: development assistance policy and international monetary policy. It concludes with an analysis of tensions and contradictions in EU external economic policies.


IG ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 154-160
Author(s):  
Manuel Müller

The COVID-19 pandemic is not only putting European financial solidarity to the test, but also the common values of the European Union (EU). In Hungary and Poland, the governments are using the situation to undermine democratic principles and expand their own position of power. The EU - once again - is struggling to give an adequate answer. While the European Parliament has clear words, but little options for action, most national governments show a reserved attitude. Similarly, the European Commission has expressed concern, but does not want to take any immediate countermeasures.


Author(s):  
D. Potapov

The article analyses the foreign direct investment cooperation between the European Union and the People’s Republic of China under the Belt and Road Initiative. The initiative is proposed by China and is aimed at developing cross-regional transport and logistics infrastructure connecting China with South-East, South and Central Asia, the Middle East, East Africa and Europe. The author examines the history of the initiative and its assessments by international organizations (e.g. the World Bank and the ESCAP UN) and investigates the structure and statistics of the EU-China investment relations, basing on the examples of the most important China’s investment partners (including France, Italy, Germany and the Vishegrad Group countries). The discrepancy between the conditions for the EU and the Chinese investors is highlighted. The author defines and characterizes the major models of the Belt and Road projects’ development, which are used by China in cooperation with the EU Member States. The EU investors in China face restrictions imposed by the national regulation of foreign investments. In particular, the external investors do not have access to the sectors crucially important for national interest and security (e.g. high-tech sectors and mass media). At the same time, Chinese investors’ access to the EU financial markets is not limited, allowing them to become important shareholders in the EU companies and to transfer technologies. It raises concerns within national governments and the European Union itself. The national governments are establishing and adopting screening mechanisms for foreign direct investments and additional regulations to control important sectors and enterprises. At the same time, the EU Member States are developing a common view on the prospects and mechanisms of cooperation with China under the Belt and Road initiative. The EU countries have not yet reached a consensus upon the Belt and Road initiative and the prospects of the EU participation in it, so the author focuses on the strategies of the examined countries. Germany is calling for a common position for all the EU member states and advocates for using the EU-based mechanisms and platforms for cooperation with China. Such demands are also connected with the promotion of a common EU investment screening mechanism in order to protect the Member States’ interests and security. Italy is deepening its cooperation with China through bilateral mechanisms, mainly based on a memorandum of understanding with China on the Belt and Road initiative. France, on the one hand, shares the common interest with Germany regarding the need for the common EU policy towards the Chinese initiative, but on the other hand, the country is deploying new projects with China. The Visegrad Group states are forging their ties with China through bilateral and multilateral cooperation mechanisms and they are interested in the growth of Chinese investment inflows. This undermines the unanimity of policy towards China and the Belt and Road.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 254-265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea C. Bianculli

Regional integration in Latin America has experienced different periods of politicization. The most recent goes back to the 2000s and is related to the domestic political changes resulting from the so-called ‘left turn’ which sought alternative economic and development policies to neoliberalism as the state regained centrality. These transformations led to a broad process of politicization of regionalism which changed the terms of the debate surrounding whether regional integration and free trade are the only way for these countries to integrate regionally and internationally. Analyses have thus underscored the postliberal character of this phase of regionalism as reflected in the greater weight of social and political agendas at the expense of economic and trade issues. The Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR) was no exception to this trend. However, in 2010 the bloc rather surprisingly agreed to relaunch negotiations with the European Union (EU). Why did MERCOSUR decide to resume these negotiations—stalled since 2004—in a context of high politicization of regional integration? This article argues that internal politicization did not lead to a paralysis of the international agenda. Moreover, internal politicization, coupled with external pressures and the demand for group-to-group negotiations by the EU, drove and supported the conduct of international negotiations. In so doing, this article also contests the idea that after the 2000s, MERCOSUR moved inexorably towards a postliberal model, thus rejecting any trade component. Findings suggest that these accounts may have overemphasized change and underestimated continuities in regional integration dynamics as the case of the external agenda shows.


Author(s):  
Doina Gavrilov

The Economy has always been considered an essential pillar of the development. This is why, when the European Union appeared, the idea of a community based on economic relations with the purpose of empowering the common economy seemed to be an attractive idea to the outside states of the European Economic Community. Even at first, the idea of empowering the Economy was a very good one, after politics, culture, agriculture, science, and other domains were directly linked to the economic development, the Economy was seen as the nucleus of development of all. Giving its role, we are asking ourselves: Is the Economy role only a positive one in the development of other domains? To understand the role that the fall of the Economy can have on other domains, we focus on Economy- culture relation. Assuming the role of the spillover effect of the Economic crises on the culture we conclude that the Economy should not be the only basis of development, but we should enlarge our possibilities of independence of other domains.


Policy-Making in the European Union explores the link between the modes and mechanisms of EU policy-making and its implementation at the national level. From defining the processes, institutions and modes through which policy-making operates, the text moves on to situate individual policies within these modes, detail their content, and analyse how they are implemented, navigating policy in all its complexities. The first part of the text examines processes, institutions, and the theoretical and analytical underpinnings of policy-making, while the second part considers a wide range of policy areas, from economics to the environment, and security to the single market. Throughout the text, theoretical approaches sit side by side with the reality of key events in the EU, including enlargement, the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, and the financial crisis and resulting Eurozone crisis, focusing on what determines how policies are made and implemented. This includes major developments such as the establishment of the European Stability Mechanism, the reform of the common agricultural policy, and new initiatives to promote EU energy security. In the final part, the chapters consider trends in EU policy-making and the challenges facing the EU.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 61-76
Author(s):  
Gediminas Valantiejus

Abstract The Common Commercial Policy is the essential basis of the European Union (hereinafter - the EU), which, in particular, is a free trade area between the 28 Member States with a common external customs tariff and a common foreign trade policy as well as common trade rules with the third countries. Implementation of this policy is characterized by the fact that it is based on an exclusive competence of the EU, which after the Treaty of Lisbon (2009) became even more apparent. Therefore the countries of the EU should follow the same legal principles and rules in the regulation of their foreign trade, that is to apply the uniform EU rules on the calculation of customs duties and determination of the customs origin of goods, customs valuation and tariff classification of goods (Common Customs Tariff). However, implementation of these provisions is always experiencing stress due to the different interests of the EU Member States and the different national practices, especially when the administration of customs duties is actually implemented only at the level of individual EU Member States. Therefore the aim of the article is to assess the implementation of the EU’s CCP from the perspective of the EU Member State (Lithuania) and to describe existing discrepancies which may serve as an obstacle for the development of common regulatory regime for import customs duties in the EU or hinder its main economic goals in international trade. Analysis of relevant scientific problems is mainly based on the comparative method (comparison of the practice of the national courts in the Republic of Lithuania and the Court of Justice of the European Union in disputes related to the functioning of the EU's customs union) and generalization of professional experience (national and EU judicial practice). The research leads to the conclusion that a uniform implementation of Common Commercial Policy and the Common Customs Tariff, as its main element, is not fully ensured on the practical level from the perspective of certain Member States (i.e. Lithuania).


2018 ◽  
pp. 83-91
Author(s):  
Joanna Skrzypczyńska

The purpose of the paper is to analyze the position of Poland in the GATT and WTO. Another topic concerns the principles of the Common Commercial Policy of the European Union, including Poland after accession. The first part of the paper presents the position of Poland in the GATT, with particular emphasis on Poland’s specific membership, which followed from its centrally planned economy. The second part of the paper concentrates on the issue of Poland’s functioning within the WTO and Polish postulates in the Development Round (Doha) of the WTO in the context of liberalized trade of agricultural commodities. The effects of excessive imports from China are also analyzed from the point of view of Polish producers of soft fruit and in terms of anti-dumping duties imposed by the EU on such imports.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 180-193
Author(s):  
Grzegorz Mazur ◽  
Jakub Banach

Abstract The accession of the Visegrad Group (V4) countries to the European Union has triggered their active participation in assistance to less developed countries. Since joining the EU, the analyzed countries have developed ODA legislation and an institutional framework and increased financing in development co-operation. Being a member of the EU and DAC, all V4 countries also have their legal and financial obligations in the area of development co-operation. The shared experience of those countries in creating and implementing their development policy gives reason to investigate their aid systems, development policy challenges and implementation of their commitments as a group of donors. The aims of the paper are to identify main development trends of the V4 countries’ development policies as well as to investigate the implementation of their development commitments taken at a global and EU level. This has allowed to define the main challenges for V4 countries in delivering efficient development assistance to other developing countries in the future, such as improvements in institutional systems, transparent and clearly defined legislation as well as substantial increase of financing transferred by V4 to ODA.


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