The EU in International Trade Negotiations: Assessing the Role of the Single Voice through an Analysis of the Uruguay Round and the Doha Round

Abstract

The thesis focuses on the role of the single voice of the EU during two international trade negotiations: the Uruguay Round and the Doha Round. The assumption of EU policymakers and a first wave of EU scholars was that speaking with a single voice at the international level leads the EU to be effective. A second wave of scholars challenged this assumption. The aim of the thesis is to assess the actual role of the single voice using two different cases, through an analysis with institutional and external variables (the former referring to the internal EU rules and the latter to the external context of the negotiation). The combinations of these variables determine the role of the single voice in international trade negotiations. During the Uruguay Round the EU wanted to maintain the status quo. The analysis showed that the single voice was strong, and it led to a favorable outcome for the EU. The EU negotiator was constrained by rigid institutional rules, and the external variables strengthened the single voice. Instead, during the Doha Round the EU pushed for reform. The single voice was cohesive, but the external variables had a negative impact on the negotiation. This led to a weakening of the single voice. The research concluded that the degree of effectiveness of the single voice, and its role, depends on the combination of institutional and external variables, but it is not possible to claim that the single voice leads to effectiveness in absolute terms.