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The European Union has a tradition of using its external trade policy as an instrument of diplomacy, as a basis to further its own development. It also attempts to lean on its partners, so that the latter may come to respect its norms and points of reference. The limits of this de facto external policy are however increasingly obvious: these are linked in particular to the internal divergences which exist between different members of the Union, as well as to changing conditions outside the Union, such as the WTO negotiation rounds, the rise of China as a superpower, or policies stemming from the American and Japanese competitors. Can the EU have a common trade policy which carries decisive weight, without at the same time holding a global diplomatic vision?