The special issue brings together findings from MATS (Making Agricultural Trade Sustainable) and a second thematically related Horizon 2020 project, TRADE4SD. Together, the two consortia produced eight articles covering trade governance, EU policy, African value chains, and the role of economic modelling in sustainability assessments.
Professor Bodo Steiner of the Department of Economics and Management served as coordinator of the MATS project.
Trade liberalisation is not enough: governance gaps undermine sustainability goals
A central message running through the special issue is that trade liberalisation alone is not enough to advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Effective governance mechanisms, including functioning dispute settlement systems, sustainability impact assessments prior to signing trade agreements, and enforceable sustainability standards where relevant stakeholders are consulted, are needed to translate trade into positive outcomes for people and the environment.
The research found significant policy incoherence in the EU's approach. Despite stated commitments to integrating sustainability into trade policy, EU measures have often fallen short. The analysis points to recent examples such as the EU Deforestation Regulation and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism as cases where insufficient stakeholder consultation and investment uncertainty have complicated implementation.
One key finding concerns carbon leakage: when EU climate standards tighten, emissions can shift to non-EU countries with fewer regulations. Without tools such as technology transfer or coordinated climate agreements with partner countries, EU climate goals risk being undermined by the very trade policies designed to support them.
Perspectives from EU citizens, farmers and African producers
The articles also examine the perspectives of EU citizens and value chain actors. Citizens surveyed in Germany, Hungary and the United Kingdom expressed concern not about trade itself, but about whether trade actually delivers visible sustainability benefits. Farmers, processors and traders called for better support for research, innovation and technology adoption to help the transition to more sustainable practices.
For sub-Saharan Africa, the research identified three pressing needs: better knowledge on improving produce quality, technical support to reduce post-harvest losses, and support for value-adding technologies. The project also found that fair trade certification needs to address the widespread reality of unpaid family labour among smallholder farmers.
The special issue concludes with a call for trade agreements to be based on sustainability impact assessments, move beyond legal language toward jointly agreed action plans, inclusive consultation processes, and arrangements tailored to the actual capacities of each partner country. Bilateral free trade agreements remain a promising tool — but only when designed as vehicles for partnership rather than instruments of compliance.