ABSTRACT
The interest group that goes “policy shopping” finds a wide array of trade policy instruments in the EC. The size of the EC’s political market allows a considerable product differentiation for redistributive trade barriers. The instruments are suitable for very diverse policy interests because of the institutional details regulating the application of each instrument. And as in many markets, specialized intermediaries (lawyers in lobby firms and associations) help the “shoppers” to find the right personal policy package. But can the EC afford to be protectionist?
