Perhaps the most significant challenge comes in the very redefinition of trading

Perhaps the most significant challenge comes in the
very redefinition of what constitutes trade policy, and
the consequent expansion in the array of issues and
interested parties with which a trade ministry must
deal. The borderlines that separate trade from other
fields of public policy have always been somewhat
blurry, and the distinctions have become even fuzzier
over the course of the last generation. What was
once a limited area of policy that intersected with
aspects of foreign and fiscal policy is now more fully
linked to nearly every consequential topic on the
national agenda. Among the subjects now handled
in most trade negotiations are investment, intellectual
property rights and trade in services; some talks go
further still, incorporating such matters as competition
policy, labour rights, and environmental protection.
Each of these issues have profound implications for
countries’

 development strategies. Policymakers in
the field of trade policy, whether they are negotiators,
legislators, or litigators, are now called upon to deal
with a range of issues over which officials in other
ministries and agencies have principal jurisdiction.
Conversely, officials in those other bodies must live
I. INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW 5
with the consequences of trade negotiations and
disputes. It is necessary for policymakers in all fields
to understand the ways that trade is related to other
areas of public policy, and especially how it needs to
be mainstreamed into development policy.