From a policy point of view, at least two implications flow from
our results. The first is that discussions on product standards at the
WTO and elsewhere need to be broadened to take account of the
important role that voluntary standards play in influencing global
trade patterns in food and agriculture markets. Most policy-level
discussion is limited to dealing with mandatory standards, such
as food safety regulations. However, our results show that in a context
of increasingly globalized supply chains, voluntary standards
also matter.