As recent actions by the Trump administration highlight committing to a rules-based, multilateral order is no longer enough. The EU needs an expanded trading playbook to meet the geopolitical moment. And while a strong transatlantic trading alliance will remain central to the EU’s economic future, Brussels should not be purely reactive to policy shifts in Washington.

This event will explore whether Brussels’s conception of the transatlantic alliance should be broadened into that of a trans-oceanic network, with an initial focus on Japan and South Korea. Both of these states and the EU face a US-China trade trilemma and all exhibit fundamental security dependencies on Washington. In this context, closer partnerships with Tokyo and Seoul will diversify EU trading risks and create a hedge against greater US conditionality.

What other strategies should the EU employ to “hedge the chaos” of Transatlantic relations? What now for EU – China policy? A shift back towards accommodation rather than aggressive derisking? Can countries like the US, Canada and Australia also play an important role in the EU shaping a new type of global trading power?

This event will not be livestreamed.

Martens Centre, rue du Commerce 20, 1000 Brussels 11:00-12:30