External Trade

 

The European Union is the largest trading bloc in the world, accounting for 19% of world imports and exports. The EU's 27 members negotiate as one on the international scene, through the European Commission.  Peter Mandelson is the EU's Trade Commissioner.

The EU negotiates in both multilateral and bilateral formats.  It is actively engaged in the Doha Development Agenda – the current WTO trade round – and in many bilateral negotiations including with South Korea, India, and the Ukraine among many others.  In doing so the aim is to bring down barriers to trade to help meet the challenges posed by globalisation and to ensure that as many people as possible can seize the opportunities it offers.  When necessary unfair trade is tackled through recourse to the dispute settlement in the WTO and the EU’s own trade defence mechanisms.

European success is inextricably bound up with the success of our trading partners, both in the developed and developing world. For this reason, sustainable development and development policy in general are central to the EU’s overall approach.  For example, development considerations have been central to the developing Economic Partnership Agreements between the EU and African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.

The UK is committed to promoting trade liberalisation, increased prosperity and fighting global poverty.