ALPHA. Demokratiskolan.se is a PROTOTYPE · Content review in progress
Demokratiskolan
The Trade card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 31 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaSweden in the world
  • Centre of gravityThe EU
  • Points of influence2 on the journey
  • Decisive electionEuropean Parliament election
Sweden in the world

Trade

Trade (Imports & exports) of goods & services

Most of what you own has crossed at least one border. Trade policy, that is, the rules and agreements that steer the flow, has since the EU accession been a common European matter: Sweden no longer negotiates its own trade agreements. But Swedish agencies, regions and companies work every day to get Swedish goods and services out into the world.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Region · export promotion in the county · approx 5 %
  • State · pushes the swedish line in the eu · approx 35 %
  • EU · agreements, tariffs & the single market · approx 60 %

Trade policy is the EU's exclusive competence: agreements and tariffs are negotiated by the Commission for all member states. Sweden has influence via the Government in the Council of Ministers, so the European Parliament election and the general election share the responsibility.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityOff the pitch
The regionThe springboard
Central governmentThe voice in Brussels
Who decides?
No formal role in trade policy.
The regional development committee, often in cooperation with export promotion offices in the county.
The Government in the EU's Council of Ministers, Kommerskollegium as the expert agency and Business Sweden for the promotion.
What do they decide?
The business development offices help local companies, and municipal ports and industrial areas carry the physical trade.
Helps small and medium-sized companies start exporting: advice, networks and contacts with foreign markets.
Shapes Sweden's line in the EU's trade policy, analyses trade barriers and helps Swedish companies out into the world.
Where are decisions made?
In the municipal executive board's business development work, not in trade policy.
In the regional development strategy and in the daily work of export advice.
In the Government Offices and the Riksdag's EU committee, where the line ahead of the Council of Ministers' meetings is anchored.
Who pays?
Nothing from trade policy.
Regional development funds, often together with the central government and the EU.
The central government budget funds the agencies and the export promotion.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election No direct way in here: trade policy is decided at the national level and the EU level.
Regional election The regional election steers the business development efforts. As a business owner you can get help from the county's export advice.
General election The general election steers the Government's EU line. Referrals (remiss) on trade agreements are open to respond to.
EU · centre of gravityTrade policy is the EU's exclusive competence: the Commission negotiates the agreements and the European Parliament approves them. Your vote in the European Parliament election counts directly.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A Swedish product reaches the world
  1. EU

    The single market opens Europe

    A product that may be sold in Sweden may as a rule be sold across the whole EU: common product rules and no customs duty at the borders. For a Swedish company the home market is therefore around 450 million people.

  2. EU

    The agreements open the rest

    If the product is to go further out into the world, the EU's trade agreements steer the terms. The Commission negotiates, the member states and the European Parliament approve.

    Point of influence

    In the European Parliament election you choose the members who approve or reject the trade agreements.

  3. State

    Sweden pushes its line

    The Government takes a position on the agreements in the Council of Ministers, anchored in the Riksdag's EU committee. Kommerskollegium analyses what agreements and trade barriers mean for the Swedish economy.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers the Government's line. Agreements and proposals go out for referral (remiss), and companies can report trade barriers to Kommerskollegium.

  4. Region

    The company gets help out

    The small company gets help from the county's export advice and from Business Sweden to find the right market, certify the product and write its first export agreements.

  5. Your everyday life

    The product on the shelf, the jobs in the town

    Exports pay a large share of Swedish wages and welfare, and imports fill your shelves. The next time a price tag changes, you know the explanation may lie in an agreement negotiated in Brussels.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Which goods in your home would become more expensive or disappear without free trade, do you think?

  2. Trade creates jobs but also moves jobs. How has that shown where you live?

  3. Should Sweden be able to negotiate its own trade agreements, or is the EU's combined weight worth more?

  4. Which requirements on the environment and working conditions do you think trade agreements should set?

  5. How much do you know about where your most common goods come from, and does it matter to you?

Glossary

Inre marknaden
The EU's common market with free movement for goods, services, capital and people.
Exklusiv kompetens
Areas where only the EU may decide. Trade policy is one of them.
Frihandelsavtal
An agreement that lowers tariffs and other barriers to trade between countries or blocs.
Handelshinder
Rules, fees or hassle that make it harder to sell goods and services across borders.
EU-nämnden
The Riksdag's body where the Government anchors its EU line ahead of the Council of Ministers' meetings.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.