The Rise of Selective Protectionism within the EU's Evolving Economic Architecture

The Rise of Selective Protectionism within the EU's Evolving Economic Architecture

Amid intensifying competition among large-scale economies—namely between the United States, China, and the European Union (EU)—analysts and experts have increasingly termed the EU’s economic policy framework as protectionist.1 While it is true that protectionism plays a more substantial role in characterizing the EU’s recently adopted trade and industrial policies, it does not fully describe the EU’s evolving economic architecture. An often-neglected distinction is the direction toward which the EU has embraced protectionism, i.e., toward China and the United States, and the one that it has not, i.e., toward middle powers—countries that do not exercise global hegemony over economic, political, or military issues but still wield recognizable influence in global affairs, stemming from their meaningful diplomatic, economic, or military capabilities.

This mixed application of EU protectionism is a clear example of the term “selective protectionism.” This term helps to explain the EU’s practice of protecting its common market from more powerful economic actors to ensure competitiveness and economic sovereignty without applying those same protectionist measures to other, smaller economic actors. In fact, this phenomenon can even encourage further market openness toward the latter group of actors, usually identified as middle powers, to ensure economic resilience against large-scale competitors. This commentary documents instances in which the EU, while competing with large-scale economies and taking corresponding protectionist steps, is simultaneously competing for increased cooperation and partnerships with middle powers in order to bolster its resilience against large-scale economies.