The politics of international trade have changed dramatically over the past 20 years. Advances in technology have spurred a new kind of 'trade' involving transfers of components and materials across borders but within firms. Trade in services, foreign direct investment and sales by affiliates of foreign-owed companies have grown more rapidly than trade in goods, making national rules and regulations more significant barriers to trade.

The effects of 'non-trade' policies on trade have engaged new actors in trade politics, not least in the European Union (EU). The emergence of a more...