Policy Briefs

We feature a summary of issues, policy options and recommendations relating to Voluntary Sustainability Standards (VSS) in our policy briefs. They’re aimed at government policymakers and others who are interested in formulating or influencing standards policy to achieve economic, social and environmental goals.

POLICY BRIEF: FOSTERING THE SUSTAINABILITY OF GLOBAL VALUE CHAINS (GVCS)

28 March 2017

In several G20 countries, national multi-stakeholder coordination platforms on Voluntary Sustainability Standards are currently taking shape pro-actively, supported by national governments and the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS). The G20 should further promote these initiatives as well as the UNFSS.

The world economy is increasingly embedded in Global Value Chains (GVCs). Meanwhile, although the rising significance of GVCs increases the importance of removing both export and import restrictions, the willingness of nations to cooperate in that regard is at an ebb, noticeably regarding Deep Preferential Trade Arrangements (PTAs), something which needs to be addressed by policy-making.

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