Media reports about scandalous working conditions in supplier companies, as well as tragic accidents, give the impression that GSCs [global supply chains] are always intrinsically problematic, even downright “bad”. Are they? What is certainly clear is that participation in the global marketplace has created hundreds of millions of jobs, growth and development and brought millions of people out of poverty...GSCs also facilitate the transfer of knowledge from buyers to suppliers, promote new technologies in production processes and thereby enhance productivity and competitiveness...So, do we live in the best of all possible worlds as Leibniz famously said? Certainly not. There are unquestionably working conditions in some GSCs that are unacceptable and that urgently need to be addressed...[D]ecent work challenges in GSCs are not unique to GSCs, but reflect general challenges in the local environment, such as a high prevalence of informality, ineffective labour inspection, a lack of OSH frameworks, high levels of corruption, ineffective judiciary systems and inadequately developed social protection systems...Rather than denouncing global supply chains as negative by their very nature, let’s look together into ways and approaches that ensure countries and societies take better advantage of the opportunities presented by global trade for decent work, growth and development