Circular economy and international trade. Assessing the impact of European circular economy strategies in international trade

Abstract

[EN] The purpose of the research is to study the current situation of the circular economy and how the transition to a circular economic model can affect international trade. The study is focused on the current situation of the circular economy in Europe and how the policies affect international trade. Statistics and data are analysed in order to know how effective is the transition from the linear economy model to a more circular one. The theoretical framework covers three main topics. Firstly an explanation about what circular economy is. Secondly, the relation between circular economy and international trade and the different effects on it is presented. This is followed by a deeper study of the European Union policies in circular economy and the effect in international trade is introduced. Qualitative methods are used as well to study and give credibility to the thesis with statistics. The data was obtained carefully from international associations and governments. Statistical data is mainly obtained from Eurostat. The discussion of the results studies the current situation of circular economy and international trade in circular economy in Europe. Valuable information about the European Union member performances in a circular economy was obtained. The study results that European policies are working, but the lack of mandatory legislation and inequality between the different members is slowing down the transition to a more circular economy and the creation of new trade markets as the secondary raw materials market.