The Impact of Private Standards on Brazilian Exports: Case Studies from the Food, Instant Coffee, Lighting, and Textile and Clothing Sectors
Private standards correspond to a set of rules and processes that establish guidelines related to the production, supply, packaging, and transportation of goods and services. These requirements are developed by private organizations, including non-governmental organizations, transnational corporations, retail chains, industry associations, and interest groups. Although legally voluntary, compliance with these requirements has, in practice, become mandatory for market access and exports. Given the proliferation of private standards, this study, prepared by the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp), aims to assess the positive and negative effects of imposing private standards on Brazilian industrial exports. The document aims to fill a gap in the literature on the subject at the production sector level, since private requirements are specific to each context, depending on geographic, institutional, and value chain aspects. Furthermore, difficulties are observed in producing methodologically comparable results regarding the level of aggregation used in existing mappings (business, community, national, and international, etc.).1 . The study was prepared based on questionnaires and technical consultations conducted with four entities representing the production sector: (i) the Brazilian Association of Biscuit, Pasta, Food, and Industrialized Bread and Cake Industries (ABIMAPI); (ii) the Brazilian Association of the Instant Coffee Industry (ABICS); (iii) the Brazilian Association of the Lighting Industry (ABILUX); and (iv) the Brazilian Association of the Textile and Apparel Industry (ABIT). The comparative analysis of the entities' responses led to the conclusion that: (i) private standards are already required in a diverse range of markets, but with greater relevance in developed economies; (ii) there is a prevalence of requirements related to the promotion of sustainable businesses and the guarantee of human and labor rights; (iii) the obstacles to compliance with private standards include the costs of adapting the production process and the lack of harmonization with other requirements; and (iv) the gains observed by complying with the requirements are related to access to niche markets and improvements in product quality and safety. Finally, the document presents suggestions for action to the private sector and the Brazilian government, with a view to contributing to increased awareness of the issue, the process of developing public policies related to the incorporation of private standards into the production processes of Brazilian industrial firms, and the mitigation of their potential harmful effects. The challenges identified suggest the need for measures aimed at a structured and coordinated incorporation of the issue into the public policy agenda. Examples of such measures include increasing the Brazilian government's engagement with international standard-setting organizations; carrying out awareness-raising activities among Brazilian industrial sectors regarding private standards and disseminating useful tools for identifying and evaluating these requirements; formalizing the "Technical Barriers" Forum or establishing a similar forum, with institutional frameworks and integrated into the structure of the Council for Metrology, Standardization, and Industrial Quality (Conmetro), intended to serve as a consultative mechanism to the National Institute of Metrology, Quality, and Technology (Inmetro); and conducting technical analyses that seek to understand the economic impacts of private standards, including adaptation costs and potential gains from access to new markets.
