Committees · International Trade

INTA

1 ESN seat

International Trade.

The Committee on International Trade is Parliament’s lead committee for the European Union’s common commercial policy.

ESN seats

Members total

Subcommittees

2024–29

10th term

Mandate & Tasks

What This Committee Handles.

It deals with trade and investment agreements, customs policy, trade-defence instruments, relations with the World Trade Organization and the Union’s external economic relations. Parliament acts as co-legislator on trade legislation and must consent to major international trade agreements, making INTA central to market access and Europe’s external economic orientation.

Key facts · INTA

Full name

Committee on International Trade

Size

43 members

ESN seats

1 of 43

Subcommittees

Meeting cycle

Legal basis

Annex VI of the EP Rules of Procedure

ESN in INTA

INTA will finalise Turnberry-related legislation, advance ratification of the modernised agreement with Mexico

— ESN Committee Booklet · Committee on International Trade

Remit

Four Policy Areas of the Committee.

ESN Position

Our Line in the Committee.

The Group’s priorities in this committee, as set out in the ESN Committee Booklet.

Strengthening European Companies in Global Competition

ESN supports a lean and free-trade-oriented framework that strengthens European companies in global competition rather than overregulating them.

Market Access Without Ideological Conditions

It favours agreements that secure market access, investment protection and the rule of law without imposing new ideological conditions related to climate or identity politics.

Sovereignty and Reduced Trade Barriers

ESN also defends national sovereignty in external economic policy, opposes the use of economic security as a pretext for protectionism and seeks to reduce bureaucratic trade barriers for industry and small and medium-sized enterprises.

ESN Members in INTA

One Seat in This Committee.

The ESN seat in INTA is held by the Members listed below. The named assignment is updated at the start of each session period.

Full Member

Markus BUCHHEIT

Substitute Member

Tomasz FROELICH

As of 2026 · Full list with named assignments available on request from the secretariat

Track record

Key Achievements.

Since the start of the term, INTA has worked on major free-trade files, including implementation of the EU-US Turnberry tariff arrangements, modernisation of the Global Agreement with Mexico and trade relations with Australia and Switzerland. ESN members have supported provisions that lower tariffs, guarantee market access and establish proportionate security safeguards. In work on Mercosur, extension of the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism and simplified anti-dumping procedures for small and medium-sized enterprises, ESN has highlighted the importance of competitive energy and production costs and warned against additional burdens on industry and agriculture.

ESN in action

Promoted tariff reductions, market access and investment protection.

Warned against new burdens on industry and agriculture through trade-related climate rules.

Challenged protectionist uses of the EU's economic-security agenda.

Outlook

Looking Ahead.

In the coming months, INTA will finalise Turnberry-related legislation, advance ratification of the modernised agreement with Mexico and shape the trade pillar of long-term support packages for Ukraine. The committee will also scrutinise the EU’s economic-security doctrine, investment and export controls, and future trade relations with China, ASEAN and Mercosur. ESN will argue that economic security should combine open and predictable markets with clear and proportionate safeguards rather than protectionist industrial policy.

Documents

From the Parliament.

Studies, briefings and meeting documents of this committee, published by the European Parliament.

Draft Report · 2026

Proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on Electronic Commerce

Draft Report · 2026

Draft Council decision on the conclusion of the International Coffee Agreement 2022

Draft Report · 2026

Proposal for a Council decision on the conclusion of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Indonesia

Draft Report · 2026

Draft Council decision on the conclusion of the Agreement on Digital Trade between the European Union and the Republic of Korea

Opinion · 2026

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 as regards the extension of its scope to downstream goods and anti-circumvention measures

Provisional Agreement · 2026

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the non-application of customs duties on imports of certain goods

Provisional Agreement · 2026

Proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council on the adjustment of customs duties on the import of certain goods originating in the United States of America and opening of tariff quotas for imports of certain goods originating in the United States of America

Opinion · 2026

Draft Council decision on the conclusion of a broad package of agreements between the European Union, of the one part, and the Swiss Confederation, of the other part, to consolidate, deepen and expand their bilateral relations, and amending Decisions 2011/51/EU and 2011/738/EU

Related committees

Also of Interest.

Three closely related committees in which the ESN Group is represented.

DEVE

Development

The Committee on Development is responsible for EU development cooperation and humanitarian assistance.

DROI

Human Rights

The Subcommittee on Human Rights monitors the human-rights dimension of the European Union's external action and international relations.

AFET

Foreign Affairs

The Committee on Foreign Affairs coordinates Parliament's work on the European Union's foreign policy and external action.