WTO Members
Discusses on SPS Measures
·
Specific
trade concerns
·
COVID-19
and SPS issues
·
Thematic
sessions
·
SPS
Agreement Fifth Review
·
Information
sharing
At a meeting of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures on 15-16 July, WTO members discussed
how to further enhance the implementation of the SPS Agreement
in light of the opportunities and pressures created by the evolution of the global
agricultural landscape. Some members suggested launching this work on sustainable
agriculture and related issues through a proposed SPS Declaration for the 12th WTO
Ministerial Conference (MC12), while others preferred to undertake this work in
the SPS and other WTO committees.
Looking
ahead to 21st century challenges in the implementation of the SPS Agreement and
its impact on global food production systems and the future of trade, discussions
revolved around the new version of the proposed SPS Declaration (G/SPS/GEN/1758/Rev.7) for
MC12 scheduled to take place in Geneva on 30 November-3 December. The SPS Declaration
is now co-sponsored by 29 delegations: Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Burkina
Faso, Cabo Verde, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Dominican
Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, The Gambia, Guatemala, Honduras, Japan, Mexico,
New Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Senegal, Singapore, Tajikistan, Togo, the United States,
Uruguay and Viet Nam.
The intention
of the Declaration, co-proponents said, is to recognize and examine the SPS impact
on global issues, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, sustainability of food
systems, food security and the need for innovation, and how the SPS Committee could
contribute to these discussions. Co-sponsors observed considerable common ground
and urged members to remain optimistic that it will be possible to achieve consensus
on this important forward-looking initiative as a vital contribution to the success
of the upcoming 12th Ministerial Conference.
Co-proponents
underscored that the proposed Declaration, "Responding to Modern SPS Challenges",
underlines the benefits of the SPS Agreement to all WTO members, and reaffirms the
continuing importance of adhering to its obligations. Using a science-based approach,
the Declaration would initiate a work programme to consider
how to further enhance the implementation of the SPS Agreement in light of the opportunities
and pressures created by the evolution of the global agricultural landscape. The
text would also provide an opportunity to raise awareness within the broader WTO
community, including trade ministers, of the relevance of the SPS Agreement and
the challenges ahead. The SPS Committee would achieve this through, among other
things, a report to the 13th Ministerial Conference with key findings and consensus
recommendations.
Acknowledging
that the global transformation of food systems is at a turning point and that a
strong response to current global health and environment challenges is needed, some
members said MC12 is an excellent opportunity to reinforce the message that international
trade in general – and particularly, trade in food – must take place in full consonance
with sustainable development. Therefore, they proposed including more robust references
in the Declaration to current and future environmental, climate and ethical challenges
for trade in food. These would include protecting biodiversity and the ecosystems
of the planet, global transformation towards sustainable food systems, animal welfare
and the establishment of best practices in risk management which respect legitimate
consumer expectations, while avoiding disguised protectionism.
Other
members proposed inserting a reference to new threats like COVID-19 and the challenges
for developing and least developed countries (LDCs). They sought clarification on
how the existing transparency and notification requirements in the SPS Agreement
would interact with the Declaration. Upholding transparency and the work of the
international standard-setting bodies in facilitating and enhancing safe trade were
also mentioned as elements to be taken into account.
In addition,
under the Committee's information sharing agenda item, the European Union proposed
that the WTO should play a major role in supporting sustainability objectives in
relation to trade in agricultural and fishery products. The European Union suggested
that the SPS Committee, possibly jointly with other relevant committees, set up
a work programme to address issues related to the transition
to sustainable food systems in relation to international trade, based on the outcome
of the UN Food Systems Summit. A starting point could be to identify a list of policy
objectives that can be legitimately pursued, considering the need to mainstream
sustainability aspects in all relevant fora. The SPS and other WTO committees could
report on key findings to MC13, including recommendations, as appropriate. Some
members supported the EU proposal, while others emphasized that the proposed MC12
Declaration is the best way to launch this work.
Members
raised 47 specific trade concerns (STCs), nine of them addressed for the first time
in this committee. Discussions addressed a variety of topics, including restrictions
and approval procedures for imports of animal and plant products, pesticide policies
and maximum residue levels (MRLs).
Members
also discussed actions related to COVID-19 that affect trade, approvals for new
listing and reinstatement of export establishments, administrative delays in approval
procedures, the renewal of authorizations for plants, fishery
and livestock enterprises, and certification requirements for food derived from
genetically modified organisms.
Both
new and previously raised issues can be found in the password protected eAgenda system for members, which allows
them to submit agenda items, statements and STCs online. Further information can
also be found in the publicly available SPS Information Management System.
In addition,
the WTO Secretariat presented its new Trade Concerns Database, which
provides information on SPS and technical barriers to trade (TBT) trade concerns.
The beta version of this Database is now available for testing and comments from
members.
The WTO
Secretariat provided updates on COVID-19 and SPS issues, reporting a total of 102
submitted SPS notifications and other communications related to COVID-19. Approximately
65% of these documents were submitted in the first six months of the pandemic, between
February and July 2020 and the remaining 35% have been submitted in the following
11 months, since August 2020.
The WTO
"COVID 19 and world trade"
webpage includes a list of measures on goods, services and intellectual property
adopted by members in the context of the pandemic. The page includes trade forecasts,
Secretariat reports and the list of all notifications submitted by members. Of the
392 notifications received, 26% were received under the SPS Agreement. These documents
can be extracted from the SPS Information
Management System. A video on how ePing
users can create a filter to receive email alerts on all SPS notifications related
to COVID-19 is available here.
Following
up on the ongoing discussion since November 2020 of ideas and proposals for strengthening
the process of monitoring of international harmonization, members discussed a new
document by New Zealand (G/SPS/GEN/1915), which
includes some possible topics to be covered in the thematic session on international
harmonization scheduled for November 2021.
The thematic
session would address progress made in the implementation of the SPS Agreement in
relation to the monitoring of international harmonization of SPS measures on the
basis of international standards. It would also review actions and initiatives of
the international standard-setting bodies (ISSBs) to monitor the uptake and use
of their standards, guidelines and recommendations. Members would be invited to
provide perspectives and approaches to the application of international standards
as a basis for domestic regulation and trade.
Several
members expressed support for the organization of this event, proposing that lessons
from related dispute settlement cases and the Committee's Procedure to Monitor the
Process of International Harmonization (G/SPS/11/Rev.1) also
be covered. They also noted that it is essential for ISSBs referenced in the SPS
Agreement to participate in this event, namely the FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), the FAO International Plant
Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Organisation
for Animal Health (OIE).
These
organizations expressed support for such a timely event as it would provide a good
forum to present the state of play of their monitoring mechanisms developed or currently
under development and to discuss how ISSBs' different texts, i.e. standards, guidelines,
recommendations, or codes of practice, are considered in members' legislation and
under the SPS Agreement.
Planning
ahead, members were encouraged to submit proposals for thematic sessions to be held
in 2022. China proposed to postpone the thematic session on default pesticide maximum
residue levels (MRLs). The European Union said it would submit a written proposal
for a thematic session on plant health risk assessment and related international
standards and procedures. The schedule of thematic sessions for 2022 will be finalized
at the November 2021 Committee meeting.
As part
of the follow-up to the Fifth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the
SPS Agreement, a virtual Workshop on Risk Assessment,
Risk Management and Risk Communication in relation to food safety,
animal and plant health was held on 12-13 July. With over 1,000 registered participants,
the workshop brought together a variety of speakers from the public and private
sector, academia, international standard-setting bodies and other international
organizations for an in-depth discussion on all aspects of SPS risk analysis.
In other
follow-up work on the Fifth Review, the Committee received an update on the activities
of the Working Group on Approval Procedures (G/SPS/W/328/Rev.1), which
concluded its second round of meetings. Working Group members continued to discuss
a proposal from co-stewards Canada and Paraguay on a common understanding of the
term "approval procedures”. This proposal takes the form of an illustrative
list of approval procedures, based on participants' contributions for the practical
purpose of advancing the work of the Working Group. It does not represent a legal
interpretation of the rights and obligations of the SPS Agreement and is not a legal
definition.
Members
informed the SPS Committee of other relevant SPS work. Japan updated the Committee
on the food safety situation following the Fukushima nuclear power station accident
10 years ago (see document GEN/1233/Rev.3). The
United States introduced its new virtual SPS courses (GEN/1914) and
the European Union reported on a new study on the status of new genomic techniques
(GEN/1931).