Free trade agreements and regional trade agreements with third countries and European business

This chapter describes how the trade and European Union (EU) studies literatures explain the EU&s;s involvement in global trade. It then reviews the range of trade agreements the EU has conducted with countries around the world. The World Trade Organization consists of 164 countries and aims to establish rules governing global trade and the reduction of tariffs and other barriers to trade. Despite the inability of the EU and USA to establish an free trade agreement, or perhaps because of it, the EU negotiated deals with two of its most important trade partners: Canada and Japan. The formation of trade agreements with other countries allows the EU to expand liberal economic norms and values, particularly in emerging markets and developing countries with little experience in open markets. The chapter concludes by proposing areas where additional scholarly work is necessary.