Oltre le barriere tariffarie: protezionismo e divergenze regolative nelle relazioni commerciali fra Stati Uniti e Unione Europea durante l’amministrazione Trump

The article aims at assessing how and to what extent the Trump administration has affected trade relations between the United States (US) and the European Union (EU). In order to do so, and taking into account the general framing of virtually every Trump-related political issue in terms of a “break” from business as usual, the article identifies the Trump administration’s consistencies with and deviations from the more traditional course of America’s trade policy, including the setting off of infamous “trade wars”. After providing an insight of the US and the US trade policy governance system, the article continues pointing out the regulatory divergence between US and the EU as a relatively overlooked yet critical aspect of their mutual trade relationship – one where the effects of the Trump administration can be argued to be especially significant, both in economic and political terms. Finally, regulatory divergence is further explored focusing on the different main rationales – science-based evidence and precautionary principle – underpinning US and the EU respective systems of protection against the risks connected to goods and services’ production and exchange.