We study the role of geoeconomics in shaping globalisation and trade policy. We first review the evolution of world trade since the end of World War II, highlighting the drivers of globalisation and its economic consequences. We then synthesise recent research on geoeconomics, which analyses how countries use trade policy as a tool to pursue geopolitical objectives. Against this background, we argue that the gradual shift in geoeconomic power from the United States toward China since the 2000s has been driving a fragmentation in world trade along geopolitical lines. We provide conceptual policy recommendations for the European Union to navigate an environment characterised by intensifying geopolitical competition.