Premium
Food Safety Issues, Trade and WTO Rules: A Developing Country Perspective
Author(s) -
Athukorala PremaChandra,
Jayasuriya Sisira
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
world economy
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.594
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1467-9701
pISSN - 0378-5920
DOI - 10.1046/j.1467-9701.2003.00576.x
Subject(s) - sophistication , transparency (behavior) , developing country , protectionism , international trade , market access , technical barriers to trade , business , trade barrier , quality (philosophy) , economics , product (mathematics) , international economics , economic growth , agriculture , computer science , ecology , social science , philosophy , geometry , computer security , mathematics , epistemology , sociology , biology
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.