The transatlantic disputes have brought other problems into focus as well. The beef ban relates to food safety and the environment, two issues that are usually domestic in nature. Every country has always had the right to pass laws on these issues within their own borders. But today, trade and investment have created a world that is closely intertwined. Almost any government s domestic policies can have an impact on foreign companies.
Traditional disputes are relatively easy to settle.
They usually involve quotas, tariffs or another easily identified trade blockage. Solving such disagreements was simple compared to the tangle some of the new trade dispute issues are causing. The issue is no longer just economic. Consumer-rights activists and environmental groups have become involved, and the debate in Europe centres more on social concerns than on dollars and cents. Some countries, led by the United States, want to include labour and environmental standards in trade rules.