Workshop on the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement

The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization organized a special workshop on the transparency provisions of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement), in Geneva, Switzerland. The workshop began on Monday, 18 October and continued on Friday, 22 October 2010. The SPS Committee’s informal and regular meetings was held on 19-21 October 2010.

> STDF website

> SPS Information Management System

The objective of the workshop was to enhance the implementation and benefits of the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement, in particular by sharing experiences on how to operate an effective SPS National Notification Authority and Enquiry Point.

The 2010 workshop programme was prepared taking into account the past two transparency workshops held in 2003 and 2007, the Committee’s discussions on this topic, as well as specific inputs from Members. The first day of the workshop (Monday, 18 October) provided for an overview of transparency issues and allow for exchange of national experiences in the plenary and during break-out sessions. The second day of the workshop (Friday, 22 October) was more hands-on with practical exercises on notifications.

> Report on the workshop

Programme

Monday, 18 October 2010

10.00 - 10.15	Opening remarks Flavio Soares Damico, Chairperson, SPS Committee
10.15 - 10.45	Session I: Introduction Speakers: Gretchen Stanton, Serra Ayral and Pablo Jenkins, WTO Secretariat Overview of transparency provisions in the SPS Agreement and of relevant Committee/Ministerial Decisions > Presentation Presentation of Members’ level of implementation of transparency provisions and decisions (G/SPS/GEN/804/Rev.3) > Presentation Indication of existing WTO reference materials/tools, including the SPS IMS
10.45 - 12.45	Session II: Sharing of national experiences in the plenary
10.45 - 10.55	Why notify? What are the benefits of notifications? What are the costs when notifications are not forthcoming? Speaker: Paul Vitolovich, Manager, SPS Section, Trade and Market Access Division, Department of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry, Australia > Presentation
10.55 - 11.05	How to facilitate and regularize the preparation of notifications? Speaker: Andrea Spencer, Coordinator, Enquiry Point, Standards Council of Canada > Presentation > Handout
11.05 - 11.15	How to best take advantage of incoming notifications? Speaker: Fabián Sáez, Unidad de Relaciones Internacionales, Servicio Nacional de Sanidad y Calidad Agroalimentaria, Argentina > Presentation
11.15 - 11.25	How to raise awareness at the national level? How to develop a website on notifications? Speaker: Verónica Bustamante Estrada, Dirección de Administración de Tratados Comerciales, Ministerio de Economía, El Salvador > Presentation
11.25 - 11.40	Questions/comments on presentations
11.40 - 11.50	How to devise an effective technical assistance project to improve the functioning of Enquiry Points/Notification Authorities? Speaker: Alhousseynou Moctar Hanne, Head of Plant Quarantine and SPS Enquiry Point, Ministry of Agriculture, Senegal > Presentation
11.50 - 12.10	How to maximize benefits from a bilateral technical assistance project? Speakers: Sally Jennings, SPS Contact Point, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, New Zealand and Dr. Ibraheem A. AL Sheddy, Saudi Food and Drug Authority, Saudi Arabia > Presentation
12.10 - 12.20	STDF update on initiatives to improve coordination at the national level Speaker: Melvin Spreij, Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) Secretariat > Presentation
12.20 - 12.50	Questions/comments on presentations
12.50 - 13.00	Setting the stage for the break-out sessions of the afternoon Speaker: WTO Secretariat

15.00 - 18.00	Session III: What actions could improve the implementation and benefits of SPS transparency provisions?
15.00 - 17.00	Breakout sessions with four groups (two in English, one in French, and one in Spanish). Participants proposed recommendations for action in light of the topics covered in the morning based on a list of questions to be used by the facilitators of each group. Facilitators: WTO Secretariat
17.00 - 18.00	Reporting on breakout sessions by rapporteurs in the plenary followed by general discussion

Wednesday, 20 October 2010

14.00 - 14.45

Presentation on the FAO International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health (IPFSAPH)

Speaker: Judith Crews, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)

Tuesday, 19 October
15.00 - 18.00	Informal meetings of the SPS Committee
Wednesday, 20 October
10.00 - 18.00	Regular meetings of the SPS Committee
Thursday, 21 October
10.00 - 18.00	Regular meetings of the SPS Committee

Friday, 22 October 2010

10.00 - 11.30	Session IV: Practical session on how to prepare notifications Facilitators: Serra Ayral, Pablo Jenkins, Iffet Kayili-Lejeune, and Galina Davis-Konandreas, WTO Secretariat; Sally Jennings, New Zealand Contact Point What should be notified and when? Who should notify? What format should be used? Who could be consulted with questions during preparations? To whom should notifications be sent? How does the new on-line submission facility work? (presentation and exercise) > Presentation
11.45 - 13.00	Session V: Practical session on how to track incoming notifications Facilitators: Serra Ayral, Pablo Jenkins and Iffet Kayili-Lejeune, WTO Secretariat; Sally Jennings, New Zealand Contact Point Who could/should track incoming notifications? How could notifications of interest be identified and shared with stakeholders? How could comments on incoming notifications be collected and shared with notifying Member? How does the SPS IMS work? (presentation and exercise) > Presentation 1 > Presentation 2

15.00 - 16.00	Session V: Practical session on how to track incoming notifications — continued Facilitators: Serra Ayral, Pablo Jenkins and Iffet Kayili-Lejeune, WTO Secretariat; Sally Jennings, New Zealand Contact Point Group exercise with sample notification
16.00 - 17.00	Session VI: Identification of follow-up actions and evaluation of workshop Facilitators: Serra Ayral, Pablo Jenkins and Iffet Kayili-Lejeune, WTO Secretariat; Sally Jennings, New Zealand Contact Point