From its inception, the TRADE4SD project carried out extensive multidisciplinary work, combining rigorous quantitative modelling, qualitative assessments, and comprehensive stakeholder consultations to explore the relationships between international agri-food trade and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The project began by conducting a structured literature review, assessing how trade interacts with economic, social, and environmental dimensions of sustainability. This was complemented by detailed case studies focusing on agri-food value chains in Ghana, Vietnam, and Tunisia, examining the sustainability impacts of EU trade agreements in specific local contexts.
Advanced economic modelling methods, including computable general equilibrium (CGE) and global agricultural market analyses, provided insights into the economic, environmental, and social implications of various trade scenarios. These models demonstrated that while trade liberalisation can improve economic outcomes such as food affordability and market access, it often increases environmental pressures and exacerbates inequalities, highlighting the necessity for complementary sustainability policies.
Throughout the project, TRADE4SD generated a series of evidence-based policy briefs offering concrete recommendations. These include the need for explicitly enforceable sustainability provisions in trade agreements, tailored support for smallholder integration into global markets, robust capacity-building programmes, and enhanced coherence among EU trade, agricultural, environmental, and climate policies.
In terms of dissemination, TRADE4SD actively engaged diverse stakeholders—ranging from policymakers, academia, and industry representatives to civil society groups—through workshops, policy dialogues, webinars, and public conferences. The project's findings and recommendations have been extensively published and disseminated via policy briefs, detailed reports, academic publications, and the project’s dedicated website (www.trade4sd.eu). These activities have maximized visibility and facilitated widespread knowledge transfer.
Exploitation of project results has primarily involved informing ongoing policy discussions at EU and international levels, notably influencing debates around WTO modernisation, EU trade agreement strategies, and sustainability integration within agri-food value chains. The comprehensive evidence and clear policy recommendations provided by TRADE4SD have become a valuable resource for policymakers and practitioners working to align international trade with the global sustainability agenda. Moreover, the project has elaborated two visualisation tools and a game, also available at the website, as a legacy.
