International Trade Policy

This is why Sweden is traditionally pursuing open, simple and fair conditions for international trade and investment. Trade with the world around us has built our prosperity. It can contribute to growth, to employment and to sustainable development.

Globalisation is both providing new economic opportunities and increasing competitive pressure. This process could change the context for world trade. In the current period of economic crisis, there are an increasing number of policy challenges for governments to keep trade flowing. Sweden firmly believes that the free flow of trade is essential to ensure a return to sustainable economic growth and rising standards of living for all, particularly for developing countries.

Protectionism must be resisted. We all have responsibility for rebuilding trust and confidence in international trade. The monitoring work in the WTO on trade measures is part of this effort.

The European Union (EU) is an important actor in international trade and in the development of international trade policy. EU trade policy consists both of the rules for trade within the EU – the internal market – and joint action taken by the EU in creating global and regional rules for imports and exports, for example in the World Trade Organization (WTO)

Negotiations in the WTO
In 2001, WTO members launched the Doha Round of world trade negotiations with a focus on reforming agricultural subsidies, improving access to global markets and ensuring that new liberalisation in the global economy respects the need for sustainable economic growth in developing countries.

EU priorities in the Doha Round are:

In market access for industrial goods, the EU wants to create significant new trade flows by cutting tariffs in both developed countries and the growing emerging economies, such as China, Brazil and India. The goal is to create new trade between developed countries, but also between developing countries.

In agriculture the EU is committed to an agreement that reforms farm subsidy programmes in industrialised countries in line with the EU's wide-ranging 2003 reform of the Common Agricultural Policy. As part of the Doha Round, the EU has offered to partially cut farm tariffs and reduce trade distorting farm subsidies. Furthermore, it has also offered to eliminate farm export subsidies altogether. The EU also wants to see new market access opportunities for its own processed agricultural exports.

In market access negotiations for services trade, Doha should bring considerable and real market opportunities for business as well as benefits to consumers world-wide. However, the EU does not seek general deregulation or privatisation of sectors where principles of public interest are at stake, and the EU is also committed to defending the right of WTO members to promote cultural diversity.

The EU wants the Doha Round to agree on a package of development measures including: a special agreement to address trade distortions caused by subsidies to cotton farmers in developed countries; the extension of unlimited markets access to all Least Developed Countries by as many countries as possible; special measures to help the poorest countries implement any Doha Agreement effectively and without long-term harm to their economies. The EU also emphasises aid-for-trade assistance to help the poorest build trade capacity.

The EU wants the Doha Round to agree on a new set of rules to govern the use of trade defence instruments so that they are not abused, and an update of the WTO's rules for trade facilitation, the standard practice for customs and other border related procedures world-wide. The EU also wants to use the Doha Round to improve the protection of Geographical Indications.

> Read more about the trade priorities in the statement on the discussion between Swedish Trade Minister Ewa Björling and EU Trade Commissioner Catherine Ashton

> Read more about Sweden's Trade Policy in the Government's Declaration on Trade

 > Read more about the work of the section in our newsletter (in Swedish)