PPM-Based Trade Measures to Promote Sustainable Farming Systems? What the EU/EFTA-Mercosur Agreements Can Learn from the EFTA-Indonesian Agreement

More sustainable systems of food production are urgently needed. The global community and all involved actors must go beyond focusing narrowly on quantities of food produced; they must simultaneously address interlinked issues of water scarcity, soil fertility loss, agrobiodiversity, climate impacts, equitable land access, labour standards, and other environmental and social issues. The farming systems of the global North and South are highly interdependent, and agricultural trade rules can significantly influence global structures of food production. In view of the increasingly apparent flaws of private sustainability-oriented certification schemes, there is a growing consensus that states can and should use trade-related policy levers to foster more sustainable food production. The present text explores ways of doing so. The approaches taken in the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)-Mercosur Trade Agreement are juxtaposed with those of the EFTA-Indonesian Trade Agreement. The latter agreement structure is argued for, based on its incorporation of tariff differentiation along the lines of process and production methods (PPMs). Accordingly, some thoughts are presented on the conformity of PPM-related trade measures with trade law. The primary concern that emerges regarding PPMs is not whether, but how these can be designed to avoid impinging on fundamental principles of international law, but rather to respect those. Finally, based on a look at the current state of farming systems in Brazil and Argentina, some recommendations are provided as to the optimal design of nuanced, sustainability-oriented trade rules.