Food Safety Issues, Trade and WTO Rules: A Developing Country Perspective

Abstract

The SPS Agreement and the related WTO dispute settlement mechanism are an important first step in strengthening the global trade architecture, bringing in greater transparency and orderly conditions to world food trade. However, implementation of the new trade rules has turned out to be a more complex task than the traditional market access issues handled by the WTO. Several factors, including inadequate financial and technical resources, have constrained devel‐oping countries from becoming effective participants in the implementation process, and there is widespread suspicion that SPS regulations are being used as hidden protectionist devices by developed countries. However, despite all the problems, some developing countries have been quite successful in penetrating developed country food markets; they have done so by accepting the consumer preferences and standards in quality‐sensitive high‐income markets and implementing domestic supply‐side measures. While making full use of available international assistance initiatives, developing countries should view the task of complying with SPS standards not just as a barrier but also as an opportunity to upgrade quality standards and market sophistication in the food export sector.

Impact of Non Tariff Measure on Indonesian Cacao Exports

“…Both approaches frequency index SPS, TBT index frequency, coverage ratio SPS and TBT coverage ratio showed the value of each coefficient of 0.00069; 0.00023; 0.00054; And 0.00015 with a negative sign. This was in line with Athukorala and Jayasuriya (2003) stating that food security standards adopted by developed countries tend to have negative implications on export products of developing countries.…”

Regulatory globalisation

“…For example, the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements on phytosanitary standards and technical barriers to trade were intended to create some convergence of standard-setting in these areas, with the goal of this convergence being to facilitate trade. 1 But the evidence suggests that developing countries face problems in achieving the level of scientific capability required by these standards (Athukorala and Jayasuriya 2005). The upshot is that developing countries may lose rather than gain markets as a result of the standards.…”

A importância das normas internacionais para o comércio da fruticultura brasileira.

“…De maneira geral, tem-se enfatizado que a penetração nesses mercados é condicionada à habilidade dos países em atender a padrões de segurança cada vez mais rigorosos impostos aos alimentos em países desenvolvidos (Athukorala & Jayasuriya, 2003). Esses mesmos autores destacam diversos aspectos que têm dificultado o acesso a esses mercados pelos países em desenvolvimento.…”

“…O desenvolvimento do conhecimento científico a respeito de riscos à saúde, melhorias na tecnologia de processamento, associado à elevada elasticidade renda dos consumidores por padrões de segurança mais elevados, são aspectos que acentuam essas dificuldades (Athukorala & Jayasuriya, 2003).…”

“…Tem sido comum, no entanto, a proposição de exigências bastante restritivas que suscitam fortes suspeitas quanto à sua legitimidade (Thornsbury et al, 1999;Thornsbury et al, 2004;Roberts et al, 1999;Jaffé & Henson, 2004;Wilson, 2001;Jensen, 2001). Nesses casos, as exigências parecem ter o objetivo de dificultar o acesso aos mercados domésticos ao invés de se tornarem instrumentos para proteger a saúde humana, de plantas e de animais, com a devida fundamentação científica Jensen, 2001;Burnquist et al, 2002;Athukorala & Jayasuriya, 2003). De fato, tem-se registrado que a redução do emprego de políticas de proteção comercial, comumente na forma de tarifas, negociada ao longo das várias rodadas do General Agreement on Tariffs And Trade (GATT), vem aumentando a visibilidade do emprego de instrumentos protecionistas e estimulando a restrição do uso de tarifas e de outras barreiras tradicionais ao comércio, tais como as quotas e as…”