Science often plays a crucial role in commerce, through technical product standards, often used as trade barriers. These non-tariff barriers are imposed by importing countries around the world to restrict the entry of certain goods into their markets, officially, as a means to protect consumers and the environment, among other objectives, but, more often than not, as a means to protect internal trade. This could one day be no longer the case, as forthcoming EU-US trade talks aim at reaching global standards, making science an instrument to promote greater trade and consumer protection. And not acting as a barrier. Read more [...]