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The EU and the United States are following divergent paths with regard to their respective trade policies. While the new administration of the United States has made some notably strong statements against further trade liberalisation, the EU continues to favour responsible globalisation. The EU has recently signed a series of free trade agreements (FTAs) as well as plurilateral agreements with its partners (especially, but not only, in East Asia). Consequently, the EU is strengthening its status as a global leader in the debate on economic openness. Conversely, the US has interrupted major negotiations with its trading partners and has renounced trade agreements, such as TPP and TTIP (at least for the time being). This paper provides some empirical economic and social guidance behind the recent policy divergence on globalisation between the US and the EU in general and vis-à-vis China in particular.

Jeanne Metivier is Associate Researcher, Mattia Di Salvo is Research Assistant and Jacques Pelkmans is Senior Research Fellow at CEPS.