Trade.
Date: 2019-09-18
Institutions: Directorate-General for Communication
Subjects: EU Member State, European Union, competition policy, export policy, free-trade agreement, market access, market enlargement, trade policy

Trade

The EU champions free trade. With every €1 billion in exports supporting 
14 000 jobs in Europe, the EU fights for open, rules-based markets, a level 
playing field and the highest international standards.

The EU is the largest trading power and one of the most open economies in the world. 90 % of future global growth is forecast to come 
from outside Europe’s borders and a third of our national income depends on trade. The EU has the exclusive power to legislate and 
conclude international trade agreements under areas covered by its common commercial policy, based on World Trade Organization 
rules, on behalf of its Member States.

What the EU does

The  EU’s  trade  policy  covers  trade  in 
goods and services, but also matters such 
as the commercial aspects of intellectual 
property and foreign direct investment.

Trade deals are not an end in themselves; 
they  also  project  European  values  and 
principles around the world, which is why 
all  new  trade  agreements  negotiated  by 
the  EU  include  provisions  on  sustainable 
development, notably environmental pro-
tection  and  labour  conditions.  The  recent 
deals with Japan and Mexico are 
the  first  trade  agreements  to  in-
clude a commitment to the Paris 
climate agreement.

The  EU  stands  for  open  and  fair 
trade  and  fights  against  protec-
tionism.  It  uses  trade  defence 
and  market  access  measures  to 
defend its companies and citizens 
against  unfair  competition  and 
unfair trade practices.

The EU has trade agreements in force with 
70 partners around the world, such as the 
EU-Canada  Comprehensive  Economic 
and Trade Agreement, which has abolished 
customs duties on 98 % of products, saving 
EU businesses up to €590 million annually. 
The agreement with Japan could increase 
EU exports to Japan by more than a third 
and save €1 billion in customs duties. 

The EU is negotiating a further 12 agree-
ments  covering  22  countries,  including 

http://bit.ly/1FmvJMB

Find out more: https://ec.europa.eu/info/topics/trade_en 
European Commission reflection paper on harnessing globalisation

Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia and the 
Mercosur trading bloc. 

transparently, 

The  Commission  handles  trade  nego-
tiations 
systematically 
publishing  negotiating  texts,  reports  of 
negotiating rounds and explanatory docu-
ments, and reports regularly to the Euro-
pean Parliament and the Member States. 

The  EU  stands  for  open  markets,  but  it 
is  not  a  naïve  free  trader.  It  maintains  a 
balance between being open and 
ensuring that rules are respected 
and  that  EU  industries  are  pro-
tected  against  unfair  trade  and 
unjustified  barriers.  Since  2014 
the  EU  has  removed  nearly  90 
market access barriers in non-EU 
countries,  affecting  a  range  of 
EU  industries  and  exports  worth 
some  €8.2  billion  a  year.  It  has 
also  imposed  over  30  trade  de-
fence  measures,  protecting  over 
350 000 jobs.

@Trade_EU

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This factsheet is part of the 
publication ‘The European Union: 
What it is and what it does’. 
An interactive version, containing 
links to online content, is available 
in PDF and HTML format at:  
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webpub/com/eu-what-it-is/en/

Manuscript completed in May 2019

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2019

© European Union, 2019

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