The Importance of International Quality Standards in Negotiating Trade Agreements between the European Union and Third Countries as regards Global Trade in Agricultural Products and Food

The aim of this thesis is to assess the role of international quality standards in context of free trade agreements, taking into account international supply chains and global value chains. An intensive literature review revealed that quality standards imply a close link between trade and resilient supply chains. Not only traditional governmental trade barriers, but also increasingly trade policy measures by industry influence the extent to which demands from industry standards play a role for trade in agricultural products and food. Comprehensive trade agreements negotiated by the European Union (EU) in recent decades not only eliminate tariffs, but also prescribe a wide range of political measures. They provide a framework for quality management and related international standard setting. Therefore, in the context of free trade agreements, the importance of international quality standards in the agri-food sector is growing. My own empirical studies refer to three concrete fields of action: I. quality management in companies of the agri-food industry, II. communication in food supply chains, III. reduction of trade barriers in global trade with agricultural products and food. All three fields of action are considered in terms of their mutual influence and under the aspect of sustainability as a quality characteristic. For this purpose, seven empirical sub-studies were conducted between the years 2015 and 2022 and the different methodological approaches as well as the results were published in scientific journals. The publications are framed by an introduction describing the changes in the framework conditions for global trade and a discussion that takes into account the multiple crisis situation since 2020. The results are based on five qualitative surveys and expert interviews with more than 200 participants from the EU and the USA as well as an extensive media analysis. The four most important results of the expert interviews are: I. the sustainability field of action is considered by the experts to be one of the most current and urgent quality features in global trade, II. according to the assessment of experts, effective traceability, as aimed at by the EU´s Farm-to-Fork strategy, will only succeed in quality management, if all companies within the value chain recognize the same quality characteristics (for example, animal welfare, GMO-free, CO2 reduction) as a joint effort and pursue them with determination, III. experts believe that global trade requires a unified vision and well-organized quality infrastructure in importing and exporting countries, IV. for the three fields of action (inter-company quality management, digital communication and reduction of trade barriers), the experts suggest targeted training and further education measures for responsible players as well as the establishment of quality management networks as purposeful actions. The concluding chapter of the thesis addresses several research questions that remain open and which should be answered in follow-up studies.Die Bedeutung internationaler Qualitätsstandards bei den Verhandlungen über Handelsabkommen zwischen der Europäischen Union und Drittländern bezüglich des globalen Handels mit Agrarprodukten und Lebensmitteln Ziel der Arbeit war es, die Rolle internationaler Qualitätsstandards im Kontext von Freihandelsabkommen unter Berücksichtigung internationaler Lieferketten und globaler Wertschöpfungsketten zu bewerten. Eine intensive Literaturanalyse ergab, dass Qualitätsstandards eine enge Verbindung zwischen Handel und resilienten Lieferketten implizieren. Nicht nur traditionelle staatliche Handelshemmnisse, sondern zunehmend auch handelspolitische Maßnahmen der Wirtschaft haben Einfluss darauf, in welchem Umfang die Forderungen aus Branchenstandards für den Handel mit Agrar- und Lebensmittelprodukten eine Rolle spielen. Die weitreichenden Handelsabkommen, die in den letzten Jahrzehnten durch die Europäische Union (EU) verhandelt wurden, beseitigen nicht nur Zölle, sondern schreiben auch eine Vielzahl von Politikbereichen fest. Sie bieten einen Rahmen für das Qualitätsmanagement und der damit verbundenen internationalen Standardsetzung. Daher wächst die Bedeutung von internationalen Qualitätsstandards im Agrar- und Ernährungssektor im Kontext von Freihandelsabkommen. Die eigenen empirischen Studien beziehen sich in diesem Zusammenhang auf drei konkrete Handlungsfelder: I. das Qualitätsmanagement in Unternehmen der Agrar- und Ernährungswirtschaft, II. die Kommunikation in Food Supply Chains, III. der Abbau von Handelshemmnissen beim globalen Handel mit Agrarprodukten und Lebensmitteln. Alle drei Handlungsfelder werden in ihrer gegenseitigen Einflussnahme und unter dem Aspekt der Nachhaltigkeit als Qualitätsmerkmals betrachtet. Hierzu wurden zwischen den Jahren 2015 und 2022 sieben empirische Teilstudien durchgeführt und die unterschiedlichen methodischen Vorgehensweisen sowie die Ergebnisse in Fachjournals publiziert. Eingerahmt werden die Publikationen durch eine Einleitung mit der Beschreibung der Veränderungen von Rahmenbedingungen für den globalen Handel und einer, die multiple Krisensituation seit 2020 berücksichtigende, Diskussion. Das Fundament der Ergebnisse bilden fünf qualitative Umfragen und Experteninterviews mit über 200 Teilnehmern aus der EU und den USA sowie eine aufwendige Medienanalyse. Die vier wichtigsten Ergebnisse der Experteninterviews sind: I. das Handlungsfeld Nachhaltigkeit wird von den Experten als eines der aktuellsten und dringlichsten Qualitätsmerkmale beim globalen Handel eingeschätzt, II. eine effektive Rückverfolgbarkeit, wie es die EU-Farm-to-Fork Strategie zum Ziel hat wird, nach Experteneinschätzung, im Qualitätsmanagement nur gelingen, wenn alle Unternehmen innerhalb der Wertschöpfungskette die gleichen Qualitätsmerkmale (zum Beispiel Tierwohl, Gentechnikfreiheit, CO2-Reduktion) als Gemeinschaftsleistung anerkennen und zielstrebig verfolgen, III. der globale Handel setzt nach Ansicht der Experten eine einheitliche Vorstellung und gut organisierte Qualitätsinfrastruktur in den Import- und Exportländern voraus, IV. für die drei Handlungsfelder (überbetriebliches Qualitätsmanagement, digitale Kommunikation und Abbau von Handelshemmnissen) schlagen die Experten gezielte Aus- und Weiterbildungsmaßnahmen für verantwortliche Akteure sowie die Bildung von Qualitätsmanagementnetzwerken als zielführende Maßnahmen vor. Das abschließende Kapitel der Arbeit geht auf mehrere offen gebliebene Forschungsfragen ein, die in Folgestudien beantwortet werden sollten

Exploring Sustainable Aspects Regarding the Food Supply Chain, Agri-Food Quality Standards, and Global Trade: An Empirical Study among Experts from the European Union and the United States

Sustainability is increasingly a priority in the policies of the European Union, especially in the Common Agricultural Policy. This paper focuses on Sustainable Development Goals, the European Green Deal, and the Farm to Fork Strategy in an attempt to establish a relationship with the European Union’s trade policy. Three selected components of the agri-food sector—the food supply chain, agri-food quality standards, and global trade—are examined in relation to defined sustainability aspects. The aim is to understand the interrelationship between the three components with specific regard to sustainability, to highlight their high complexity and current relevance, to contribute to systematic analysis in this area, and to present current progress. This qualitative–explorative study is empirically supported by a survey of market experts, and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership between the European Union and the United States is used as an example. The results show the complexity between the relationships of the three components with a focus on sustainability and reveal a deep uncertainty. The most notable results are the limited level of knowledge and the insufficient attention from business representatives to sustainability aspects. Finally, the study identifies the state of integrating a sustainable perspective into European Union trade policy and provides suggestions for further research

The Role of quality management in the context of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Part nership (TTIP): the case of the polish Agri-food sector

Since 2013, the European Union (EU) is negotiating with the United States of America (US) a Free Trade Agreement (FTA ), the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTI P). A controversial topic in the negotiations are the different quality standards in the agri-food sectors of both negotiating partners. In order to put into force a FTA all the EU Member States have to agree to the implementation of the contract. Poland has been a full EU Member State since 1 May 2004 and gained a strong position within the EU. Thus, the importance of this EU Member State is of great relevance to the EU’s trade policy. The main objective of this article is to analyse Poland’s trading position and its domestic interests. The study primarily aimed at investigating the awareness of the TTI P in the agri-food sector with focus on the quality standards of this industry. There has been no in-depth discussion of this sensitive issue within Polish companies of the sector, yet. In particular, the study identified an uncertainty regarding the application and interpretation of international standards in cross-border customersupplier relationships of food supply chains. For this reason, it is recommended to define these uncertainties and develop proposals for the harmonization and exploitation of synergies. In summary, the results have relevance for the sector

A VIEW ON THE UNINFORMED CONSUMERS TOWARDS QUALITY STANDARDS IN THE CONTEXT OF THE TTIP NEGOTIATIONS

Radio broadcasts, TV shows and online media make a significant contribution today-to-day consumer information and have a great impact on public opinion. Thepresent study provides an overview of the German reporting about the qualitystandards of the agri-food industry in the context of the negotiations towards a EUUSTransatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). On the basis of aguided empirical content analysis, 436 publications released via radio, TV orInternet in the period from June 2013 to December 2016 were quantitatively andqualitatively analyzed. The quantitative analysis showed that the agri-food industrywas generally of minor relevance in the coverage of TTIP, but focused mainly onquality standards. The term ‘quality and consumer protection standards‘ frequentlyappeared in the reportings with the topics such as genetic modification, use ofhormones, antibiotics or pesticides and the ‘chlorine-washed chicken‘. These arenot standards for official definition of the general food law. It was established thatall publications lacked information about specific standards. Thus, the quantitativeanalysis showed a superficial view of quality standards with only symboliccharacteristics. The results of the qualitative media analysis indicated a negativepicture of the effects of TTIP concerning the agri-food sector and its standards.Due to the complex structure of the globalised agri-food chains, the importance ofcomprehensive consumer information was highlighted. Overall, German mediafailed to provide scientifically based information. Unfortunately, they justhighlighted the possible negative changes which could be caused by TTIP

Understanding the Importance of International Quality Standards Regarding Global Trade in Food and Agricultural Products: Analysis of the German Media

Rapid globalization of the agrifood industry has important impacts on international trade and quality management (QM). Likewise, the European Union has negotiated a series of bilateral free trade agreements. Of note was the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the United States of America, where the debate focused on the mutual recognition and harmonization of quality standards, especially for agricultural and food products. This topic offered the mainstream media excellent substances for coverage. This paper explores German print media, television, and radio on the importance of international quality standards in the agrifood sectors in light of the TTIP. A quantitative and qualitative empirical content analysis was performed to investigate media reporting regarding (a) it is scientific character, (b) the use of the term “quality standards” of the agrifood industry, and (c) the reporting on the agrifood industry and QM linked with TTIP, focused on harmonization. The results showed that interrelations between QM and global trade were not presented to recipients in-depth. A trend toward information asymmetries in recipient’s knowledge is indicated. The study addresses recommendations for future collaborations between media, policy-makers, and further cooperation in the mutual recognition and harmonization of quality standards and control procedures within global trade

Present and future challenges to quality science in research and practice

Die aktuelle Situation in der Industrie und im Dienstleistungssektor ist durch eine starke Veränderung der Geschäftsmodelle geprägt. Gekoppelt mit der Digitalisierung vieler Geschäftsprozesse bewirkt und erzwingt dies enorme Anpassungen in und zwischen den Organisationen. Diese drastischen Veränderungen müssen vom Qualitätsmanagement (QM) unmittelbar begleitet werden, um mit Methoden und Techniken des Qualitätsmanagements die Prozesse sicher umzugestalten und anschließend angepasste QM-Systeme in einem kontinuierlichen Verbesserungsprozess weiter zu optimieren. Hierzu gibt es keine einheitliche Vorgehensweise. Im Gegenteil, die Heterogenität der Branchen erfordert spezifische Anpassungs- und Umsetzungslösungen. Die GQW-Tagung 2017 trägt dazu bei, unterschiedliche Schwerpunkte in der Transformation der existierenden QM-Systeme im Hinblick auf die neuen Herausforderungen darzustellen.The current situation in industry and in the service sector is characterized by a strong change in business models. Linked with the digitalization of many business processes this leads to major adjustments in and between organizations. These radical changes have to be directly accompanied by quality management (QM) in order to redesign the processes safely with methods and techniques of quality management and subsequently to optimize adapted quality management systems in a continuous improvement process. There is no standardized approach to this. On the contrary, the heterogeneity of the sectors requires specific solutions for adaption and implementation. The GQW conference 2017 helps to show different key aspects in the transformation of existing quality management systems with regard to the new challenges