Introduction: New Sustainability Challenges for East Asia

Michida, Humphrey and Nabeshima summarize the main ideas in the collection and the contribution of each of the papers. Focusing specifically on food safety standards and product-related environmental regulations (PRERs) adopted in the EU, they argue that these regulations and standards have increased in stringency and have extended the use of the preventive controls. Such controls create challenges for both governments and businesses in Asian countries. If these challenges are not addressed, the regulations may act as barriers to trade. The chapter identifies how the different chapters in the book contribute to analyzing the responses of both regulatory authorities and businesses in developing Asia to these challenges.