This paper aims to assess the tensions and contradictions that exist between the European Union’s (EU) internal and international legal obligations to achieve gender equality in all its activities, and its engagement in the global competitive economy. The context of the economic relations negotiations between the EU and the Asian region provides an excellent vantage point to highlight the significant difficulties in diffusing gender norms through the medium of trade and the consequences of not doing so. This paper argues that the lack of reflexivity has implications for the EU’s external actions and its own internal order.