Over the years, journalists have helped steer the EU, one question, one leaked report and one tenacious investigation at a time <a target="_blank">(Photo: Shada Islam)</a>
Over the years, journalists have helped steer the EU, one question, one leaked report and one tenacious investigation at a time (Photo: Shada Islam)

EU and the World

In search for Asian trade allies, EU must avoid past mistakes

By Shada Islam,
Brussels
,

Call it a sign of the times. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen’s first official statement on America’s bizarre tariff war came while she was in Samarkand wooing Central Asian leaders at the bloc’s first-ever region-to-region summit.

The message was clear: while US president Donald Trump blows up the global economy, the EU wants exciting new trade, economic, digital, connectivity, and mineral extraction deals with nations across the world.

The EU commission chief has been busy sending similar upbeat messages to the many terrified global leaders who are lining up to plead for mercy from Trump and who, according to von der Leyen, are also calling Brussels.

All this is good news. 

The EU’s wishy-washy relationship with the Global South, including the dynamic economies of the Asia Pacific, is in desperate need of a reset.

It is not that officials in Brussels haven’t tried to do better. There have been multiple EU strategies, action plans, summits, and “pivots” to Asia, many providing flashy headlines with their promises of increased European engagement in trade and business, but also in defence and security.

Trade is buoyant. The Indo-Pacific region accounted for 37 percent of all EU imports and 25 percent of all EU exports in 2022. The EU is also a top investor in the region.

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Over the years, journalists have helped steer the EU, one question, one leaked report and one tenacious investigation at a time (Photo: Shada Islam)

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Author Bio

Shada Islam Shada Islam  is an EUobserver columnist, and independent EU analyst and commentator who runs her own strategy and advisory company New Horizons Project. She has recently won the European Woman in Media award and the Media Career Award 2023 for her outstanding work and powerful voice on EU affairs and focus on building an inclusive Union of Equality.