This refers to a private law which does not replace national legislation but provides an alternative at the European level, such as the legal form “European company” (Societas Europaea, SE) instead of a public limited company. The contractual parties can decide independently whether they want to apply such a law.
Overall, a surge of protectionist measures would not only undermine the recovery in global trade, it would also disrupt global supply chains and limit international factor movements, for both labour and capital. A protectionist backlash would not just have an adverse near-term cyclical impact, but also a negative long-term structural impact on potential growth.