The EU, the US, and Trade Policy: Competitive Interdependence in the Management of Globalization

Competitive interdependence marked the European Union (EU) - United States (US) relationship as the GATT/ World Trade Organization (WTO) was strengthened and as each enlarged its territorial sphere of influence. The EU initially expanded its influence outside Europe by granting nonreciprocal preferences to the African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) states while the US subsequently used the WTO to force the EU-ACP relationship into WTO-compliance. Adopting regional and bilateral strategies, the US negotiated NAFTA and Latin American and Asian free trade agreements. The US thereby expanded its sphere of influence. The EU responded by negotiating equivalent free trade agreements in both Latin America and Asia. As it expands its territorial sphere of influence, the EU may now be managing globalization by outstripping the US. The US-EU relationship thus is marked by both competition and interdependence