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Inside the European Union's trade machinery : institutional changes in an age of geoeconomics

Sjorre Couvreur (UGent)
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Abstract
In the context of increasingly assertive behaviour in international trade policy, various scholars seem to agree on the presence of a ‘geoeconomic turn’ in European Union (EU) trade policy. Whilst various aspects of this turn have been studied, the way in which the EU's trade institution might have adapted to this new context remains unclear. Therefore, this article addresses the following research question: how has the Directorate‐General for Trade (DG Trade) adapted to the geoeconomic turn in international trade policy? Using an innovative historical institutionalist framework and directed content analysis, the article analyses EU official documents and 14 interviews with EU officials. We find that, despite apparent continuity, under President von der Leyen, a gradual process of institutional adaptation through different forms of layering and conversion has taken place within DG Trade, increasing the EU's geoeconomic capacities and geoeconomic thinking inside the EU's trade machinery.
Keywords
DG Trade, European Union, geoeconomics, historical institutionalism, trade policy, POLICY, LIBERALIZATION

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MLA
Couvreur, Sjorre. “Inside the European Union’s Trade Machinery : Institutional Changes in an Age of Geoeconomics.” JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, vol. 63, no. 1, 2025, pp. 284–301, doi:10.1111/jcms.13625.
APA
Couvreur, S. (2025). Inside the European Union’s trade machinery : institutional changes in an age of geoeconomics. JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, 63(1), 284–301. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13625
Chicago author-date
Couvreur, Sjorre. 2025. “Inside the European Union’s Trade Machinery : Institutional Changes in an Age of Geoeconomics.” JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES 63 (1): 284–301. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13625.
Chicago author-date (all authors)
Couvreur, Sjorre. 2025. “Inside the European Union’s Trade Machinery : Institutional Changes in an Age of Geoeconomics.” JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES 63 (1): 284–301. doi:10.1111/jcms.13625.
Vancouver
1.
Couvreur S. Inside the European Union’s trade machinery : institutional changes in an age of geoeconomics. JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES. 2025;63(1):284–301.
IEEE
[1]
S. Couvreur, “Inside the European Union’s trade machinery : institutional changes in an age of geoeconomics,” JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES, vol. 63, no. 1, pp. 284–301, 2025.
@article{01HZ20CBSJSF0EJQ7F9XJWGEJC,
  abstract     = {{In the context of increasingly assertive behaviour in international trade policy, various scholars seem to agree on the presence of a ‘geoeconomic turn’ in European Union (EU) trade policy. Whilst various aspects of this turn have been studied, the way in which the EU's trade institution might have adapted to this new context remains unclear. Therefore, this article addresses the following research question: how has the Directorate‐General for Trade (DG Trade) adapted to the geoeconomic turn in international trade policy? Using an innovative historical institutionalist framework and directed content analysis, the article analyses EU official documents and 14 interviews with EU officials. We find that, despite apparent continuity, under President von der Leyen, a gradual process of institutional adaptation through different forms of layering and conversion has taken place within DG Trade, increasing the EU's geoeconomic capacities and geoeconomic thinking inside the EU's trade machinery.}},
  author       = {{Couvreur, Sjorre}},
  issn         = {{0021-9886}},
  journal      = {{JCMS-JOURNAL OF COMMON MARKET STUDIES}},
  keywords     = {{DG Trade,European Union,geoeconomics,historical institutionalism,trade policy,POLICY,LIBERALIZATION}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{1}},
  pages        = {{284--301}},
  title        = {{Inside the European Union's trade machinery : institutional changes in an age of geoeconomics}},
  url          = {{http://doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13625}},
  volume       = {{63}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}

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