Abstract EN:

The European union has long been using its common commercial policy as an effective means of improving its international influence. This instrumental use of its trade diplomacy has been fostered by the unquestionable achievement on its market based integration model. It relies on the recognition of trade as it prime external competence. It is justified by its predominant ranking in international trade and, since the beginning, it aims at compensating the evident weaknesses of its foreign policy. The implementation of this influence is ambivalent. On the one hand, the importance of its internal market enables the EU to impose its commercial standards and to strengthen its trade position. On the other hand, it allows the EU to promote its own vision of the “international governance”. In so doing, Europe’s trade policy also aims at exporting rules. The approach followed since the 70’s in nevertheless currently being questioned. Inside the union, doubts are expressed about the appropriateness of an ever larger opening of the European market and voices are rising in favor of a new “commercial realism”. Still, doubts also appears outside the union, even among its traditional trade partners. They are based on several elements: the observation of a decrease in Europe’s commercial influence as a consequence of the relative loss of attractiveness of its market; the erosion of the preferences it proposes to developing countries; and the deficiencies of its commercial model. And those external doubts are all the stronger as alternative commercial models, which are based on a softer conditionality, if not on an antagonistic one, are being offered by Europe’s main competitors.