Ratcheting up protective regulations in the shadow of the WTO: NGO strategy and food safety standard-setting in India

ABSTRACTHow does the World Trade Organization (WTO) shape contests among civil society organizations, transnational firms, and states over domestic regulations that protect human health, such as food safety standards? The WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Standards (SPS Agreement) aims to limit the use of non-tariff barriers like regulatory standards as protectionist measures. Yet, few attempts have been made to explore how these rules shape national policy-making processes, and particularly the ability of civil society organizations to ratchet up protective regulations. Through a study of standard-setting for pesticide residues in soft drinks in India, I argue that WTO rules are at once legal obligations backed by the coercive threat of economic sanctions and discursive standards for what constitutes ‘appropriate regulatory practice.’ As discursive standards, the rules shape the rationalities and strategies of diverse actors in domestic regulatory contests. These standards of...