Publications

The issue of free trade negotiations has increasingly become the focus of the trade policy agenda. As such, it is increasingly important to base negotiating proposals and policy decisions on empirical data and objective facts.

This report – prepared in collaboration between the National Board of Trade Sweden and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – constitutes a first effort to analyse the use of tariff preferences in free trade agreements from both parties and from both an exporter and importer perspective. The observations and findings are based on the EU’s free trade agreements with a number of developed and developing countries.

Has Swedish exports of goods been held back due to trade barriers introduced since the financial crisis? According to this report, the answer is yes in relation to China but no in relation to the United States and Japan. Trade within the EU does not seem to have been affected much by trade barriers or trade distortions introduced globally since the financial crisis.

In this report, the National Board of Trade Sweden evaluates its TBT-related development cooperation activities for the last ten years. The evaluation maps out both pitfalls and success factors in developing effective and sustainable TBT capacity building. 

The main focus of this report is the links between trade and the social dimension of sustainable development. The report provides a comprehensive and holistic overview of relevant issues within trade and social sustainability, with a special focus on human rights, labour rights/working conditions and gender equality. The report also maps out trade related instrumentwith the potential to contribute to social sustainability, and it describes how the potential for trade to contribute to social sustainability is dependent on both national preconditions and complementary reforms.

The report was published in Swedish in November 2016: Handel och social hållbarhet - en kartläggning och analys

The Swedish Government has assigned the National Board of Trade to carry out an in-depth analysis of certain parts of the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the European Union and Canada. The analysis covers the provisions on investment protection including the ICS (Investment Court System), public procurement, environmental and health related issues, trade in services and the Regulatory Cooperation Forum.

The assignment is a follow-up to an earlier government assignment to the Board in July 2016 to analyse possible effects of CETA on the environment, human and animal health as well as democratic decision-making.

In this report, the National Board of Trade analyses how the new trade facilitation agreement affects WTO trade law in the sanitary and phytosanitary field.

In September 2016, the Swedish Government commissioned the National Board of Trade to analyse and provide alternatives for how trade in services between the EU and the UK can be regulated after a UK withdrawal from the EU and its single market. The assignment also includes analysing and providing alternatives for how customs and trade procedures for the trade in goods between the EU and the UK can be designed after a UK withdrawal from the EU.

This is a summary of the full analysis, Brexit – Alternativ till framtida regelverk för handel med tjänster och tull- och handelsprocedurer mellan EU och Storbritannien, by the National Board of Trade. The full analysis is  available only in Swedish.

This case story describes how Swedish authorities worked with a specific case in which a small company experienced difficulties in direct imports of cut flowers from Ethiopia to Sweden. It describes the dialogue between authorities and between authorities and actors from the private sector, and how a mapping exercise was used to facilitate the process for the company.

Trade in plant products means certain risks of introduction and spread of plant pests. Protective measures taken to minimise phytosanitary risks are therefore important. Phytosanitary inspections are conducted within a chain of border activities including customs declaration, handling of fees etc.The complexity of the chain poses challenges to both business operators and authorities.  

The internal market is based on the freedoms of movement of goods, services, persons and capital. These four freedoms were introduced in the Treaty of Rome some 60 years ago, long before the emergence of the digital economy. Today our societies are increasingly dependent on the processing and transfer of data. Almost all transactions involve the movement of data at some point and our economies are relying on a smooth and free flow of data.

The EU Member States do not fully comply with the Single market’s rules and principles and this undermines the credibility and effectiveness of the EU. This creates significant problems for citizens and companies and prevents the Single Market from fully delivering projected benefits.