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SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES: EVENTS, 25 JUNE 2007

Joint UNCTAD/WTO informal information session on private standards

The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) jointly organized an informal information session on private standards on 25 June 2007. The purpose was to give UNCTAD and WTO members the opportunity to familiarize themselves with different private standards schemes, particularly in the area of food safety.

See also:
> More on sanitary and phytosanitary measures
> United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
> News item:
Developing countries complain about pesticide residue requirements

A first session gave an overview of different private standards schemes. A second session focused on case studies, presenting different national experiences and the opportunities and challenges encountered. A final session addressed trade and development implications.

The session took place at the WTO headquarters in Geneva and was open to all UN and WTO members. It was organized on the margins of the meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS), which has been discussing private standards in recent meetings. UNCTAD’s Consultative Task Force on Environmental Requirements and Market Access for Developing Countries has prepared about a dozen country-case studies and held several regional workshops on the developmental and market access impact of private voluntary standards.

Programme

• Download (Word format, 2 pages, 47KB)

Presentations

• Global Food Safety Initiative
  Kevin SWOFFER, Director, KPS Resources Ltd

• An Introduction to EurepGAP and other Private Sector Standards: Facilitating Trade through Safe and Sustainable Agriculture
  Nigel Garbutt, Chairman, EurepGAP

• Overview of the ISO 22000 Family of Standards
  Kevin MCKINLEY, Deputy Secretary General,ISO Central Secretariat,
  Albert CHAMBERS, Working Group Expert on food safety management

• Tesco Nature’s Choice
  Stephen COX, Produce Director, CMi Certification

• Experiences on Adjustment to Private Standards in Key Export Markets
  Musa. K. Muwanga, National Coordinator, National Organic
  Agriculture Movement of Uganda

• Experiences in South East Asia
  Mr. Christie Robert

• Brazilian Government Initiatives on Conformity Assessment Programs
  Alfredo Lobo Director of Quality Inmetro

• Private Standards schemes and Developing Country Market Access: Findings from 4 case studies
  Linda Fulponi, Senior Economist, Directorate for Trade and Agriculture, OECD

• Comparison of national experiences
  René Vossenaar, Consultant

• TBT and “Private Standards”
  Erik Wijkström, Counsellor Trade and Environment Division World Trade Organization (WTO, OMC)

• ISEAL Alliance: Private standards and their implications for market access, development, WTO/trade rules
  Elizabeth Guttenstein, Policy Director (Brussels Office)

• FAO’s assistance to developing countries in dealing with private standards
  Pascal Liu, Economist, Trade and Markets Division

Additional material

• Press release April 2007: IFPS focuses on industry solutions

• Press release September 2006: International Federation for Produce Standards Launched

• IFPS at a glance

• Sustainability Impact Assessment of the EU-ACP Economic Partnership Agreements
  Summary of key findings, policy recommendations and lessons learned — flyer 1 — flyer 2