Anti-Coercion Instrument: How the EU can counter sanctions, boycotts and economic blackmailing

Economic coercion is the new buzzword in foreign policy and international trade circles. In fact, later this year the European Commission will launch the Anti-Coercion Instrument, a tool that would enable the EU to protect citizens and businesses by countering economic blackmail from China, Russia, and Turkey – and even the US.

But there are still many questions left unanswered. In what circumstances can such a tool be triggered? What kind of countermeasures could protect Europe, keep markets open and support a functional global trade order? 

In a new report, Jonathan Hackenbroich and Pawel Zerka offer policymakers a comprehensive guide on the design and scope for the Anti-Coercion Instrument that best defends European security and economic interests. Building on the Collective Defence Instrument proposed in Defending Europe’s Economic Sovereignty: new ways to resist economic coercion, as well as consultations with a taskforce made up of European governments and businesses, our panel will discuss how the EU can react to economic coercion, what countermeasures in trade and investment can strengthen the EU, and without compromising the principles of open, rules-based trade.