Arcuri, Alessandra --- "The TBT Agreement and private standards" [2013] ELECD 1255; in Epps, Tracey; Trebilcock, J. Michael (eds), "Research Handbook on the WTO and Technical Barriers to Trade" (Edward Elgar Publishing, 2013) 485

Book Title: Research Handbook on the WTO and Technical Barriers to Trade

Editor(s): Epps, Tracey; Trebilcock, J. Michael

Publisher: Edward Elgar Publishing

ISBN (hard cover): 9780857936714

Section: Chapter 14

Section Title: The TBT Agreement and private standards

Author(s): Arcuri, Alessandra

Number of pages: 40

Abstract/Description:

During my first days as a Fellow at an American university, I was unable to understand why my documents always printed out so badly. The cause turned out to be the lack of a standardized paper size between Europe and the US. I then learned that the standard format in the US is ‘Letter’, and not ‘A4’ as used by Europeans and by more than 90 per cent of the rest of the world. The A4 format follows the ISO 216 standard, which is arguably more efficient. As of 2012, more than 19 000 ISO standards have been adopted by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). In addition to the ISO standards, a plethora of private regulatory regimes are re-shaping the rules of the game relating to contemporary supply chains: from private schemes for food safety (e.g. GlobalGAP) to eco-labeling (e.g. Rain Forest Alliance) and fair trade products (e.g. Max Havelaar). By ‘standardizing’ different and otherwise incompatible products, transnational private standards have contributed to enhancing the process of economic globalization. Today, however, questions are raised as to whether the burgeoning phenomenon of (transnational) private regulation is working as an impediment to free trade. One of the few international agreements explicitly addressing the standards adopted and implemented by ‘non-governmental bodies’ is the Agreement on Technical Barriers to Trade (‘TBT Agreement’).