The EU used to emphasize trade multilateralism, first within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), later the World Trade Organization’s (WTO). Today, it is busy negotiating bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with a large number of countries, not only emerging countries but increasingly also industrialized countries. This paper examines to what extent a new type of majoritarian trade politics is emerging in the EU by focusing on the role of the European Parliament and national parliaments. It is based on the premise that new-generation trade negotiations are becoming more broadly politicized due to the growing intertwining of the international trade and the domestic reform agendas. The European Parliament is expected to play a pivotal role in the new politics of EU trade, both as a “policy-maker” and as an “interpreter”; national parliaments are expected to engage in these negotiations as a reflection of growing politicization and their role as co-ratifiers. The argument is embedded in a multi-level parliamentary field perspective and pays special attention to the points of contact between this emerging parliamentary field and extra-parliamentary actors (NGOs as well as traditional interest organizations). The value of this perspective is illustrated by exploratory case studies of EU trade negotiations with Canada (CETA) and the USA (TTIP).
