La multiplicación de los estándares privados de sustentabilidade ¿Hay un rol para la OMC?

Brazil - 15 December 2017

Trade topics: Other

Voluntary sustainability standards are part of the new challenges faced by the multilateral trading system. Regulatory barriers to trade, especially technical barriers and sanitary and phytosanitary measures, apply to several sectors such as trade in services, investments, competition, environment, digital trade, intellectual property rights and anticorruption rules. Just few of them are under the scope of the WTO Agreements. ONGs and other private entities have also adopted standards of their own with an argument that they reflect consumer desires and demands for sustainability standards. Such standards have a particular procedure for accreditation, conformity assessment and certification, raising concerns on the legitimacy side. This is not about best regulatory practices but a real threat to the regulatory coherence of international trade, especially in the areas of agriculture and food industry. South American countries should take their concerns in this area to the WTO and negotiate a way to debate this important issue at the WTO TBT and SPS Committees.

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