Good afternoon, Madam Chair.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share with you the concerns that have already been raised by the speakers before me. I think it's particularly important to draw your attention to an issue that's often taken for granted in international trade rules. My perspective is essentially analytical and critical. This issue is that of harmonizing standards and rules among partners working together in the same supply chain.
This meeting is being held in a very specific context. As we speak, there is a major agri‑food crisis in Europe that is affecting the national economies of exporting countries and causing tensions throughout the European Union. In addition to the issue of income disparity, one of the major elements of this crisis is the difficulty that the various players are having in reconciling contradictory standards and in finding arbitration mechanisms that, beyond those provided for in the European Union, would make it possible to arrive on a day‑to‑day basis at solutions that, on the one hand, serve the interests of each national community and on the other promote smoother, fairer trade between the various stakeholders.
The issue of disparities in standards is one of the most significant distortions in the functioning of supply chains. Of course, we mustn't overlook the logistical aspects and difficulties that can arise, for example, in transportation or the efficiency of customs checks. However, it's a fact that disparities between standards intrinsically define the role of players. They primarily define their flexibility in participating in a supply chain. From there, they determine the overall performance that players can achieve as suppliers or customers. In addition, these disparities in standards don't just determine the role of each of the players in trade. They can also affect the overall performance of the chain in which these players participate. This may, therefore, cause malfunctions or difficulties and as a result increase the cost of participating in this chain because of the expectations that must be reconciled between the various major suppliers and between the various suppliers of inputs or outputs throughout this supply chain.
Discrepancies and differences can be particularly marked by public policy. It's the public policies of the various trading partners that affect, determine or favour the competitiveness of everyone in this chain. The activities of economic players are always part of an institutional logic defined by the political bodies of each of the participating states. These discrepancies, driven by the standards that each economy sets for itself in terms of the quality, safety or security expectations associated with the production and exchange of goods, naturally affect the ability to participate in a supply chain on advantageous terms. In the specific case of agri‑food, these factors weigh heavily on the competitiveness of each business and the various streams.
Just think of the challenges posed by disparities in environmental standards for herbicides, pesticides and application rules, and that—