What is it about?
The study explores the link between trade and sustainability. It highlights the importance of Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) as a dispute management tool and their implications for sustainability. The study focuses on three case studies and applies to them the Theory of Change (ToC) framework to assess the effectiveness of linking trade with sustainability goals. Findings reveal that sustainability considerations are critical for resolving STCs and achieving policy coherence and integration.
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Why is it important?
An extensive literature has analysed STCs as a good proxy for non-tariff measures that constitute trade barriers , but to the best of our knowledge, no study has explored the sustainability issues behind STCs and the different perception of such matters of trading partners
Perspectives
Our analysis demonstrates the validity of the ToC in bringing out sustainability issues underlying STCs, avoiding deadlock and contributing to the resolution of frictions more easily and quickly. In this sense the results of the analysis are generalisable, and the process can be applied to other cases, confirming the validity of the ToC applied to STCs.
Maria Rosaria Pupo D'Andrea
CREA Research Centre for Agricultural Policies and Bioeconomy
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Trade and sustainability: analysing Specific Trade Concerns (STCs) through the Theory of Change, Studies in Agricultural Economics, April 2025, Research Institute of Agricultural Economics,
DOI: 10.7896/j.3045.
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