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The Pursuit of Non-Trade Policy Objectives in EU Trade Policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 June 2021

Ingo Borchert ,
Paola Conconi ,
Mattia Di Ubaldo Open the ORCID record for Mattia Di Ubaldo [Opens in a new window]  and
Cristina Herghelegiu
Ingo Borchert
Affiliation:
University of Sussex, UK
Paola Conconi*
Affiliation:
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ECARES), Bruxelles1050, Belgium CEPR, CESifo CEP, London
Mattia Di Ubaldo
Affiliation:
University of Sussex, UK
Cristina Herghelegiu
Affiliation:
Université Libre de Bruxelles (ECARES), Bruxelles1050, Belgium
*
*Corresponding author: Email: pconconi@ulb.ac.be
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Abstract

The European Union (EU) often conditions preferential access to its market on compliance with Non-Trade Policy Objectives (NTPOs), including human rights and labor and environmental standards. In this paper, we first systematically document the coverage of NTPOs across the main tools of EU trade policy: its (association and non-association) trade agreements and Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programs. We then discuss the extent to which the EU can use these tools as a ‘carrot-and-stick’ mechanism to promote NTPOs in trading partners. We argue that, within trade agreements, the EU has limited scope to extend or restrict tariff preferences to ‘reward good behavior’ or ‘punish bad behavior’ on NTPOs, partly because multilateral rules require members to eliminate tariffs on substantially all trade. By contrast, GSP preferences are granted on a unilateral basis, and can thus more easily be extended or limited, depending on compliance with NTPOs. Our analysis also suggests that the commercial interests of the EU inhibit the full pursuit of NTPOs in its trade agreements and GSP programs.

Keywords

F13F50GSPJ80K32K38Trade preferencestrade agreementsGSPconditionalitynon-trade policy objectives
Type
Original Article
Information
World Trade Review , Volume 20 , Issue 5 , December 2021 , pp. 623 - 647
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

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Footnotes

We are grateful to Lisa Lechner for providing us with the data on legalization scores. We are indebted to Petros Mavroidis, Laura Puccio, André Sapir, Alan Winters (Editor), and two anonymous referees for their very useful comments and suggestions. The project leading to this paper received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation program under grant agreement No 770680 (RESPECT).

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