Avrupa Birliği'nde ticari ilişkilerin oluşumu ve dönüşümü (1958-2018)

This thesis explores the formation and transformation of the European Union's (EU) trade relations in its integration process, mainly considering the enlargements it has completed so far. Therefore, it seeks to answer how the six founding-core members and the newcomers, who joined the EU after its establishment, have shaped the trade relations of the EU between 1958 and 2018. The methodology is to demonstrate the trade policy formation and its reflection on the EU's actual trade relations by presenting detailed descriptive statistics about continuities and changes in (i) the EU's trade volume in both extra and intra-EU trade, (ii) main trading partners, (iii) sectoral distribution of trade, which is mainly distributed in agricultural, manufactured and energy products. Based on a detailed study of the EU's trade relations and trade policy, this thesis argues that the six founding-core members of the EU, together with the UK, have shaped and directed the trade relations of this trading bloc until 2018. Furthermore, in scrutinizing the formation of the EU's trade relations, it is revealed that the EU has followed the cyclical trend of liberal trade policies pursued in the liberal world order, which also favored the interests of this core-founding group.