SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES

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The SPS Declaration, adopted at the WTO 12th Ministerial Conference (MC12), recognizes the role of the SPS Committee in responding to new issues affecting international trade in food, plants and animals, and instructs the Committee to carry out a work programme.

Open to all members and observers, the work programme would consist of new efforts to identify challenges in the implementation of the SPS Agreement and the mechanisms available to address them. It would also look at how application of the SPS Agreement is being affected by emerging challenges, including population growth, climate change, innovation, new technologies, pest/disease pressures or persisting obstacles to trade.

Ministers mandated the SPS Committee to report on its key findings and action undertaken under the work programme — with recommendations as appropriate — to the 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13), tentatively scheduled to be held between December 2023 and March 2024. A preliminary discussion took place among members on establishing an initial timeline up to November 2022 to advance work in an effective way.

Pending further consultations, members considered various meeting formats to move discussions forward, such as holding discussions during the Committee week or intersessional meetings with smaller groups or with the whole Committee. The WTO Secretariat drew attention to the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement due in 2024, and the possible linkages with the topics and proposals to be considered under the work programme.

The adoption of the SPS Declaration as part of the unprecedented package of outcomes at MC12 was celebrated during the opening of the formal meeting, where members noted the collaborative and inclusive nature of the initiative. This represents a very important step forward and a constructive response from the WTO to the challenges affecting the agricultural landscape, they said.

Pesticide MRLs

Following the extensive discussion on pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) and the thematic session held in March 2022, members recognized once more the importance of this issue as part of the regular work of the Committee. Members discussed the follow-up proposal submitted by Australia, Canada, Colombia, Paraguay and the United States, which suggests concrete actions for the Committee to explore the issue, possibly through a dedicated working group.

Overall, members agreed on the relevance of this topic but did not agree on the establishment of a working group to pursue these discussions. The ongoing Working Group on Approval Procedures, the upcoming Sixth Review, and the work programme on the SPS Declaration raised concerns in terms of resources, potential duplication of efforts and overlaps.

The need to evaluate the added value of this new work in light of the current work by Codex Alimentarius and other relevant institutions was also highlighted. The proponents indicated they would deliberate on how best to take forward this discussion.

Thematic sessions and workshops

As part of the SPS Committee week, members participated in a Thematic Session on the Use of Remote (Virtual) Audit and Verification in Regulatory Frameworks based on a proposal by Australia. The thematic session provided an opportunity to share experiences on the use of remote assessment methods, which several members began using during the COVID-19 pandemic. They also discussed how such approaches may assist members with meeting their obligations under Annex C (control, inspection and approval procedures) of the SPS Agreement. Participants also discussed the opportunities and challenges regarding the future use of remote audit.

The thematic session also provided insights into ongoing initiatives, including guidance being developed by Codex under its Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS). In addition, it allowed members and industry representatives to discuss the benefits and challenges of remote audit, drawing from their experiences.

Regarding the upcoming Thematic Session on International Standards and Best Practices in Pest Risk Identification, Assessment and Management, the European Union noted that the aim of the proposal was to further explore views and best practices on this important topic, particularly in view of the increasing number of specific trade concerns (STCs) on plant health.

A Workshop on Transparency was held at the beginning of the week to provide training on the new ePing SPS&TBT Platform that went live on 28 March 2022.

Following a recap of the transparency provisions in the SPS Agreement, members were presented with relevant work on transparency in the Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT). They also heard about an International Trade Centre (ITC) project to help traders keep abreast of changes in SPS/TBT regulations using the ePing alert system. A “notifications clinic” provided SPS notification authorities and enquiry points with an opportunity to address concerns on the notification submission and outreach/communication functionalities of the ePing SPS&TBT Platform.

Specific trade concerns

Members raised 51 STCs, six of them for the first time in this Committee. A wide range of issues were discussed, including on pesticide MRLs, animal diseases and COVID-19 related measures.

New STCs addressed issues such as BSE-related restrictions, non-application of regionalization for African swine fever, regulations on animal health official certificates for animal origin foods and honey, radioactivity checks on imported food and an import ban on ornamental plants.

Several previously raised STCs pertained to pesticide tolerances and the environment, legislation for endocrine disruptors and veterinary medicinal products, collagen for human consumption, and phytosanitary certification requirements. Several STCs related to measures imposed by China, with some members calling for an information-sharing session to better understand China's COVID-19 regulatory approach, and the procedure to register exporting establishments.

Information sharing

Ukraine provided information on its SPS infrastructure and other SPS-related aspects which have an impact on food security as a result of the conflict with Russia. Many members took the floor to express their strong opposition to the invasion of Ukraine. The Russian Federation responded by saying that the WTO was not the proper venue for a discussion of this nature.

As in previous meetings, Japan shared information on the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station and other members provided updates, under the item on monitoring, on the use of international standards regarding the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH, formerly known as OIE) guidance on several animal diseases.

Next meeting

The next regular meeting of the SPS Committee is scheduled for 9-11 November 2022.

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