The European Commission’s Discourses on Sustainable Development in ‘Trade for All’: An Argumentative Perspective

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations triggered unprecedented contestation over the European Union’s (EU’s) domestic policy space for sustainable development. Whilst extant studies reveal the conflicts between norms and institutions of EU trade politics on sustainable development, and highlight the significance of sustainability in countering neoliberalism, they seldom analyse the incremental steps toward sustainable development achieved by the contestation of TTIP. This article addresses that gap by drawing on an analytical framework that regards political discourse as argumentation for action, which is both constrained and enabled by institutional context (I. Fairclough & N. Fairclough, Political Discourse Analysis: A Method for Advanced Students (Routledge, 2012a).). Based on a textual analysis of policy documents on ‘Trade for All’, there are two significant findings: (1) the public contestation on TTIP triggered the European Commission’s (the Commission) practical arguments on sustainable development in ‘Trade for All’ trade strategy; (2) the Commission adapted its original proposal of measures on sustainable development in light of other actors’ criticisms in the implementation of ‘Trade for All’. Taken more broadly, this innovative analytical framework, and my empirical findings, will make a contribution to a research agenda which clarifies obstacles and opportunities for alternative, counter-hegemonic trade policies. European Commission, Sustainable Development, TTIP, Trade, Political Discourse, Practical Argument