In negotiating free-trade deals with the U.S. and Japan, E.U.
officials had to reckon with differing concerns of particular state interests,
given the salience of the state governments at the E.U. level. For example,
while Germany and Britain were pushing for a deal, Nicole Bricq, the French
trade minister, was reflecting the concerns of French producers in urging
caution. The impact on trade negotiations could only be to turn them into Swiss
cheese.
Nicole Bricq, French trade minister, seeking to slow the E.U. down in negotiating free-trade deals with the U.S. and Japan. Getty Images
The full essay is at Essays on the E.U. Political Economy, available at Amazon.
