EU economic frontiers determined by its international trade position and trade policy
EU economic frontiers determined by its international trade position and trade policy

Summary/Abstract: The subject of the study is an assessment of the European Union’s previous and future impact on the development of the multilateral system of international trade. The issue has been analysed taking into account the experiences of Pax Britannica and Pax Americana. The authors come to the conclusion that the polycentric world economic order does not favour the strengthening of a global trade system, which results in the inadequacy of international trade policy towards the global dimension of market mechanism. The two main centres of the world economy (the US and the EU) have different strategies of trade liberalisation. The United States prefer liberalisation in bilateral and regional agreements. They develop trade and investment links with the developing countries that are interested in access to the US market. This is also the strategy that enable control over the global trade relations. In the situation when the EU does not have the majority in WTO and bilateral agreements are the prevailing trend in trade policy of many countries, the EU position in international trade and its impact on global trade relations depend on the competitive advantage. The potential possibilities of the large EU internal market, as a lever by means of which benefits from globalisation may be achieved, have not been used so far.

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