International economic activities and domestic regulation

The protection of inventions and innovations from illegal reproduction is one of the oldest areas of international cooperation but, as a result of globalisation, intellectual property has become an increasingly important issue also from the trade policy perspective.

Competition rules are generally divided into two parts:

• regulations applying to the use of public support (government support) and r
• egulations related to the conduct of businesses.

One of Finland's long-term objectives is to contribute to reaching an agreement in the WTO that would comprise the fundamental principles applying to trade and competition.

Working life norms are a key component of companies' so-called corporate responsibility, according to which companies engage in voluntarily action to integrate social and ecological aspects into their business activities and their interaction with interest groups. Finland's objective is to increase dialogue on various forums concerning respect for the core labour rights, defined by the International Labour Organization, the ILO.

From the point of view of trade policy, the main problems related to trade and the environment are linked with how to incorporate action leading to the improvement of the state of the environment into the trade policy norms.