The European Commission has placed its fight against climate change at the center of its new trade strategy revealed on Thursday, which also sets out plans for a revamp of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

 

"The challenges we face require a new strategy for EU trade policy. We need open, rules-based trade to help restore growth and job creation post-COVID-19," the European Union's trade chief, Valdis Dombrovskis, said as he launched the new policy.

 

"It should also give us the tools to defend ourselves when we face unfair trade practices. We are pursuing a course that is open, strategic and assertive, emphasizing the EU's ability to make its own choices and shape the world around it," he added.

 

As part of the new plan, the EU wants a "major reform" of the WTO, including global commitments on trade and climate, new rules for digital trade, reinforced rules to tackle competitive distortions, and restoring its system for binding dispute settlement.

 

The new strategy builds on the EU's openness to contribute to the economic recovery through support for the green and digital transformations, as well as a renewed focus on strengthening multilateralism and reforming global trade rules to ensure that they are fair and sustainable, the commission said in a statement.