The trade-sustainability nexus: the evolution of the European Commission’s trade and sustainable development discourse from 1993 to 2022

This paper provides an in-depth analysis of the European Commission’s trade and sustainable development discourse from 1993 to 2022. By employing a discursive institutionalist framework and examining a comprehensive corpus of over 1,400 press documents, this study traces the discursive process that has created both significant changes to, and persistent elements in, the Commission’s trade-sustainability agenda. The analysis reveals noteworthy shifts within the discourse, notably a transition from a primary concern with labour and human rights during the 1990s to an increased focus on economic development and poverty reduction in the early 2000s. This was followed by a discernible move towards more stringent differentiation among developing countries and an amplified emphasis on reciprocity. In recent years, we are witnessing a strong focus on environmental and climate protection, labour rights, and enforceability. The findings underscore the enduring presence of trade-sustainability ideas within EU trade policy and their gradual evolution over time, while contributing to the literature on the role of ideas in shaping the Union’s external policies.

本论文对1993年至2022年间欧洲委员会（European Commission）的贸易与可持续发展话语体系展开深度剖析。本研究采用话语制度主义分析框架，对逾1400份新闻文档组成的综合性语料库（corpus）进行梳理，追踪了塑造欧盟委员会贸易可持续发展议程（trade-sustainability agenda）的话语进程——该进程既为该议程带来了显著变革，也留存了诸多持久要素。分析结果揭示了该话语体系内值得关注的若干转向：具体而言，20世纪90年代其核心关切集中于劳工与人权，到21世纪初则愈发侧重经济发展与减贫工作。此后，该话语呈现出明显转向：对发展中国家实施更为严格的区分标准，并大幅强化了对等性（reciprocity）的强调。近年来，该话语则显著聚焦于环境保护与气候保护、劳工权利以及执行力度（enforceability）。本研究结论凸显了贸易可持续发展理念在欧盟（EU）贸易政策中的持久存续性，以及其随时间推移的渐进式演变，同时也为探讨理念在塑造欧盟对外政策中所发挥作用的相关学术研究文献提供了新的补充。