The main objective of the trade policy of the EU is to promote greater freedom of international trade. However, in certain fields EU policy is more restrictive than the Swedish trade policy before membership.
Sweden has adjusted to the rules of the EU, for example by adopting higher duties on some industrial goods (particularly electronic equipment) and reintroducing import quotas on textiles. Quotas applying to less developed countries will be phased out in the year 2005. The EU’s relatively frequent use of anti-dumping measures against Asia and Central and Eastern Europe, and its agricultural policy, which includes more export subsidies and border protection, are other examples of differences in trade policy where Sweden has made adjustments.
In some of these fields, Sweden had been a forerunner in terms of deregulation and liberalization. It is therefore natural for Sweden to work within the EU toward the liberalization of policies in these areas. For a country that is strongly dependent on free markets for its products, it is essential to promote the opening of export markets all over the world. With its internationally high profile in the field of trade policy, Sweden is in a good position to influence the EU on such important future trade questions as the relationship between trade and the environment, investments, competition and labor standards.