Global economy and trade policy
Explore recurring issues in Europe’s relationship with its extended neighbourhood, and economic relations with China, India and the rest of the world
Europe’s global economic relationships have been complicated by the adoption of tariffs and subsidies by China and the US, often in contravention of World Trade Organisation rules. On the other hand, the change in UK government may present an opportunity for increased engagement with the UK, including on energy security, defence production and climate policy.
Under the 2024/2025 research programme, Bruegel fellows explore EU economic security policy in the context of a resurgent China, the protection of rules-based international trade and economic relations between the EU and major world powers, particularly the US, the UK and India.
Recently published
China economic database
Repository of what we consider to be the most relevant macroeconomic data for China and EU-China relations.
Russian foreign trade tracker
Tracking Russian trade using data from the EU, China, the US, South Korea, Japan, India, the UK, Turkey, Switzerland, Norway, Brazil and Kazakhstan
Analysis of auto tariffs mixes apples with oranges
How the war in Ukraine is reshaping EU-China relations
How the war is influencing Europe’s strategic and economic ties with China and Russia
Will China’s economy follow the same path as Japan’s?
Since the 2021 bursting of its real-estate bubble, worries have grown that China's future economic trajectory will mirror that of Japan in the 1990s
Is China headed for its own ‘lost decade’?
Comparing China and Japan’s economic slowdowns
Not yet Trump-proof: an evaluation of the European Commission’s emerging policy platform
This policy brief evaluates the capacity of the EU’s economic strategy to address structural problems and whether policy needs to change under Trump
China's growing influence in the Western Balkans
Why economic security could be another reason to accelerate the Western Balkan's EU accession process
30 Years of the World Trade Organisation: Challenges, reforms, and the path ahead
Does multilateralism have a future?
Events
Conference on globalisation and geo-economic fragmentation
Bruegel’s 20th anniversary event in Amsterdam, organised jointly with De Nederlandsche Bank.
Sound of Economics Live: Trump’s tariffs and the EU
A special live episode of The Sound of Economics podcast on tariffs
A trade policy framework for the EU-UK reset
Rebuilding economic ties through cooperation, new agreements, and regulatory alignment
Podcasts
Global Gateway vs. Belt and Road: Europe's infrastructure vision
Can the EU deliver on its ambitious vision?
UN and beyond: China's expanding global role
In an increasingly fragmented world, China is actively positioning itself to influence global governance
The US voted - what now?
A special live episode of the Sound of Economics podcast on the outcome of the US elections and where to go from here
China's latest stimulus package: is it enough to save the economy?
A closer look into China’s recently announced stimulus measures