The EU has shown itself not only to be effective in securing trade agreements, but also to be at the vanguard of efforts to maintain and strengthen the international rules-based system of the World Trade Organization that has translated into real opportunities for businesses, consumers and emerging economies alike. The EU’s rejection of protectionism goes hand-in-hand with its commitment to ensuring a level playing field and to enforcing trade rules.
Despite these and previous trade successes, the challenges continue to grow and the threats to the open-trading system to multiply. Policymakers and citizens ask themselves many questions, and seek answers and reassurances about the benefits of trade to all.
These questions will be the subject of this year’s European Trade Policy Day, titled ‘In defence of open and fair trade – Rising to the challenges, tackling the threats’. It will be based on a series of discussions with business men and women, civil society, stakeholders and experts.