European Trade Policy – Disintegrating regions

International trade and commerce have an impact on almost everything, from the use of natural resources and access to medicines to food sovereignty and relations with neighbouring countries.
This report looks at the rules that govern trade between developing countries and the European Union. The EU is currently negotiating bilateral or regional trade agreements with over a hundred countries. All of these negotiations aim at freer trade. The production of services, food and industrial goods is being opened to private and foreign investors and traders.
Not all barriers are being removed, however. Trade agreements make patents and copyrights stronger, so the production of medicines and technology actually becomes less free. Europe is also holding onto the right to subsidise its own agriculture.