South-South Trade and Voluntary Sustainability Standards

This report examines the integration of voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) into trade policies between developing countries (South-South trade) to enhance the trade of sustainable products and improve market access for small-scale producers and small and medium-sized enterprises.

• South-South trade has experienced significant growth over the last few decades, with its value increasing from USD 600 billion in 1995 to USD 5.3 trillion in 2021.
• Integrating voluntary sustainability standards (VSSs) into South-South trade policies can provide several benefits, including the reduction of trade barriers for smallholders and small and medium-sized enterprises, the lowering of compliance costs, the promotion of standard harmonization, and an increase in demand for VSS-compliant products.
• The report identifies specific regional and national efforts to integrate VSSs, including a Memorandum of Understanding for organic certified products between Chile and Brazil, a recognition system for VSSs across Africa, the use of VSSs as minimum requirements in Southern Africa, and the creation of regional organic standards and local assurance systems in East Africa and the Pacific.

APA

Sarmiento,, S. B. (2023). South-South Trade and Voluntary Sustainability Standards. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/voluntary-sustainability-standards-south-south-trade

Chicago

Sarmiento,, Steffany Bermúdez,Florencia. South-South Trade and Voluntary Sustainability Standards. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2023. https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/voluntary-sustainability-standards-south-south-trade.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sarmiento, |first1=Steffany Bermúdez,Florencia |title=South-South Trade and Voluntary Sustainability Standards |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=13 September 2023 |url=https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/voluntary-sustainability-standards-south-south-trade |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sarmiento2023southsouth, author = {Sarmiento,, Steffany Bermúdez,Florencia}, title = {{South-South Trade and Voluntary Sustainability Standards}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2023}, month = sep, url = {https://www.iisd.org/publications/report/voluntary-sustainability-standards-south-south-trade}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }