How do trade talks differ today from earlier negotiations?
A. For most of the post-WWII period trade talks were largely about lowering tariffs and other barriers to goods crossing borders. The issues being negotiated today go far beyond trade to include: Investment –– for every dollar worth of goods they export, TNCs produce two dollars worth of goods abroad through their overseas subsidiaries. Services –– talks on reducing barriers to trade in services reach into areas of domestic regulation right down to the municipal level Intellectual property rights –– including patents and copyrights extending to questions of whether private corporations should have the right to patent plants, animals and even genetic material derived from humans.
