Morning Trade Europe

“The trade commissioner role just doesn’t have as much strategic clout as it used to,” said Emilie Kerstens, a senior associate at Global Counsel, partly because trade policy is changing and will continue to change.

“Before, we had great trade deals that you could put your name onto. Now, that is over. And if you look at other kinds of trade-related files, like EUDR or CSDDD, DG TRADE doesn’t own those files — they’re owned by other DGs,” she told Morning Trade in an interview.

“It means they would have limited ability to really shape an agenda, with the exception of trade defense. It’s actually ironic, because if you look at the core EU competences, commercial policy is one of the biggest areas where Brussels has control,” Kerstens added.