Leveraging trade policy for the EU’s strategic autonomy

European Strategic Autonomy series - Economy & Trade

Policy Brief

06/07/2022

In a context of increasing weaponisation of interdependence – highlighted by the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine – Europeans must actively reduce their critical dependencies. The objective of strategic autonomy for the EU is becoming pressing to prevent supply disruptions and ensure the resilience of value chains. While strengthening European production capacities for certain essential goods, this objective of strategic autonomy calls for a shift of European trade policy, which should now be leveraged to secure access to essential inputs when foreign markets are closed.

A major turning point has already been reached with the new European level playing field agenda, which is progressively equipping the EU with autonomous defence tools to protect the interests of its businesses. But EU member states are slow to agree on the challenge posed by China, the level of dependence on the Chinese market they are prepared to accept, and the role the EU should play in the context of the US-China decoupling.

They also need to bridge the gap between the political rhetoric of reducing European strategic dependencies and the decisions of private companies that have no mandate to secure European supply.  Supporting companies’ efforts to diversify their supply calls for the EU notably to coordinate more closely with companies to increase collective intelligence on strategic dependencies. It also calls for the EU to promote European standards more actively, to initiate new bilateral negotiations for access to strategic raw materials, and to support an international effort to limit export restrictions.

This Policy Brief is part of a Strategic Autonomy Series, you can find out more about this issue on the project webpage.

Network
Fondation Jean-Jaurès
Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung
Related publications
15/03/2023

A five-point agenda for how development cooperation can support EU’s strategic autonomy

European Strategic Autonomy series - Economy & Trade
28/02/2023

Progressive pathways to European strategic autonomy 

European Strategic Autonomy series
06/02/2023

Towards a sustainable and resilient future internet 

European Strategic Autonomy series - Digital & Technology
06/07/2022

Europe needs high-tech talent

European Strategic Autonomy series - Digital & Technology
06/07/2022

Countering economic coercion

European Strategic Autonomy series - Economy & Trade
04/07/2022

Partnerships and European strategic autonomy

European Strategic Autonomy series - Security & Defense
28/06/2022

Sustainable digital market design

A data-based approach to the circular economy
19/05/2022

European industrial policy

European Strategic Autonomy series - Economy & Trade
16/04/2022

Strategic Autonomy Tech Alliances: Political-industrial collaboration in strategic technologies

European Strategic Autonomy series - Digital & Tech
01/03/2022

Leveraging digital regulation for Strategic Autonomy

European Strategic Autonomy series - Digital & Tech
09/02/2022

Elevating the EU’s added value as a security provider

European Strategic Autonomy series - Security & Defence
13/01/2022

Strategic Autonomy: Not without integration

European Strategic Autonomy series - Security & Defence
25/11/2021

An architecture fit for strategic autonomy

European Strategic Autonomy series - Security & Defence
Find all related publications
Publications
22/04/2025

Trade, trust, and transition: Shaping the next transatlantic chapter

Essays series by FEPS and Center for American Progress (CAP)
06/03/2025

European defence for security and peace

Ensuring the security and well-being of its citizens is at the core of the European […]
27/01/2025

Forging the new EU agenda

Progressive inputs for European economic policy
09/12/2024

China: Dangerous rival or cooperation partner?

How can EU-China relations develop in a changing world with geopolitical conflicts?
Find all related Progressive Post
Progressive Post
11/04/2025

Trump’s tariff boomerang

Most trade pundits (and a few others) were shocked by the magnitude of Trump’s tariff […]
11/04/2025

Trade as a force for good jobs

Tariffs and trade wars are never good for workers who inevitably end up paying the […]
Find all related events
Events
Past
23 - 24/04/2025
Washington DC, USA (Expert meeting)

Trade, trust and transition

Progressive Economics Network (PEN) 2025 meeting in Washington D.C.
07/02/2025
Helsinki, Finland

International tax policy at crossroads

FEPS Fringe event at the Tax Conference Veroareena
07/11/2024
FEPS HQ, Brussels (Hybrid)

State of the Unions

The US election: implications for the US, the EU and global politics
Find all related news
News
15/05/2024

Notice of vacancy – Policy analyst on international relations

This vacancy is now closed.
31/05/2022

HRVP Josep Borrell participates in FEPS expert meeting on the war and the reconstruction of Ukraine

On May 23rd, FEPS organised a timely expert meeting on the war and the reconstruction […]
22/09/2021

FEPS leads a new flagship research project on EU Strategic Autonomy with top European experts

Does the EU have the capacity and agency to set priorities and make decisions autonomously […]
Find all related in the media
In the media

Tévedés azt hinni, hogy Trump után visszatérhetünk a régi kerékvágásba

by telex 24/04/2025
“It’s a mistake to think we can go back to the old normal after Trump”. Interview with FEPS Secretary General László Andor in Telex (HU), where he discusses the global trade tensions triggered by Trump-era tariffs, the shifting US-China dynamic, and the need for the EU to develop a new strategic approach in a permanently changed world order.

СТРАТЕГИЯТА ЗА ОТБРАНА НА ЕВРОПА ТРЯБВА ДА БЪДЕ ОРИЕНТИРАНА КЪМ МИРА

by Novi Vremena 27/03/2025
In the article "Europe’s defence strategy must be peace-oriented", the Bulgarian media Novi Vremena highlights FEPS position on European defence strategy presented by László Andor, David Rinaldi and Beatriz Abellán.

Ex-EU-Kommissar Andor: Orbán gerät an die Peripherie

by Austria Presse Agentur 28/05/2024
"Former EU Commissioner Andor: Orbán is relegated to the periphery" Austrian news agency APA interviewed FEPS Secretary General László Andor on Europe's political situation ahead of the upcoming EU elections.