Directorate-General for Trade

Sustainability impact assessments

Open trade can promote sustainable development and create opportunities for economic growth and social development. But liberalisation also requires strong domestic rules and regulations to ensure that the environmental and social impact of a trade agreement is positive and sustainable.

Trade Sustainability Impact Assessments are studies that determine the likely economic, social and environmental impact of a trade liberalisation agreement.

The EU launched the first Trade Sustainability Impact Assessment in 1999. Since then, such assessments have been part of all major EU trade negotiations.

Assessments

For details of all studies past and present, see Assessments

Trade Sustainability Impact Assessments are carried out by independent external consultants chosen on the basis of an open call for tender. Studies involve wide consultation with parties potentially affected by the trade agreement on both sides, including civil society organisations.

The assessments study the likely impact of trade liberalisation in areas such as income, employment, capital investment, equity and poverty, health and education, gender inequality, environmental quality of air, water and land, biological diversity and other natural resource stocks.

All studies and their constituent reports are published on this website and all the information they contain is in the public domain, along with the European Commission's formal response. The results of the assessment guide EU negotiators in determining the best possible outcome of a trade negotiation. They also provide guidelines for the design of possible policy measures to accompany the trade agreement. Such measures may go beyond the field of trade and include social or environmental legislation designed to ensure that trade liberalisation takes place with all the necessary supports and safeguards.

Methodology

For detailed information on the methodological approach to SIAs, see Methodology

The methodological approach and basis for EU Trade Sustainability Impact Assessments was developed from scratch.

The principle of measuring the impact of policy choices in sustainability terms is set out in the Commission's Communication on Impact Assessment and a snap shot of the current methodology is provided in the Handbook for Trade SIAs.