6. Conclusions

This chapter summarizes the key findings of the book and discusses potential avenues for further research. The book’s main findings can be summarized as follows. On the one hand, the comparison of the texts of the preferential trade agreements concluded by the EU with developing countries confirms the normative ambitions that characterize European trade policy. On the other hand, it shows that the EU has not consistently designed its trade agreements with a view to accommodate the development needs of its partners. The EU should be described as a selective normative power, namely, a trade power that prioritizes normative goals only when doing so is compatible with the demands of domestic coalitions of interest groups and NGOs. Different patterns of societal mobilization have characterized the domestic politics in the EU depending on the market access opportunities offered by negotiating partners, the presence of pre-existing trade agreements between those countries and major trade competitors of the EU, and the degree of integration of the trade partner in GVCs. These elements are major factors accounting for the different trade policy strategies the EU has pursued with different developing countries.