This chapter examines the European Union’s (EU) evolving trade and investment policy in light of the global shift towards geoeconomics and strategic competition. It analyses how the EU has moved from a liberal model centred on openness and multilateralism to a more strategic use of trade policy as an instrument of security and power. The chapter traces this transformation through four interrelated dimensions: the EU’s geoeconomic turn, China’s global struggle for economic and technological dominance, the broadening of the security concept to include economic and technological resilience, and its conceptual roots in ‘open strategic autonomy.’ It argues that this shift represents a fundamental recalibration of the Union’s external economic governance, combining defensive and offensive tools—sticks and carrots—to safeguard strategic interests while preserving a commitment to openness. The chapter concludes by reflecting on the tension between economic security and liberal trade principles and assesses whether the EU can balance these competing imperatives in an increasingly fragmented global order.