The Anti-coercion Instrument: Is the EU Renouncing Its ‘Multilateralist’ DNA?

In the context of increased geopolitical tensions and the so-called ‘weaponization’ of international trade, the EU Commission tabled a proposal for an Anti-Coercion Instrument (ACI) to tackle instances of alleged economic coercion. Considering the tensions that it might come into with multilateral trade rules, this chapter analyses whether the ACI, as proposed by the Commission, is consistent with WTO procedural and substantive norms and whether it could be indeed justified under general customary international law on countermeasures. As the ACI would have consequences beyond legal ones, it will look into its potential broader implications of the instrument for the multilateral trading system and EU’s self-declared multilateralist ‘DNA’.