SANITARY & PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES: WORKSHOP — 15-16 OCTOBER 2012

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) held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Monday, 15 October 2012 and in the morning of Tuesday, 16 October 2012.  The workshop was followed by informal and formal meetings of the SPS Committee, lasting until Friday, 19 October 2012.

 

The workshop was intended to be a highly interactive, "hands-on" training event focussing in particular on the use of the SPS Information Management System (SPS IMS) and on the system for the on-line submission of SPS notifications (SPS NSS).

Representatives from the Codex Alimentarius, the World Organization for Animal Health and the International Plant Protection Convention provided information on their online tools that could be helpful to Members.  The workshop also benefitted from the presentation by government officials from Morocco and Costa Rica on their national experience with regards to the submission of SPS notifications through the SPS NSS.

 

Programme

Monday, 15 October 2012

10.00 – 10.15  Opening remarks
 

 

10.15 – 10.45 Session I:  Introduction
 

Speakers:  Gretchen Stanton, Javier Ocampo, WTO Secretariat

  • Overview of transparency provisions in the SPS Agreement and of relevant Committee/Ministerial Decisions
    > presentation
  • How does the SPS IMS work?
    > presentation

      
 

11.00 – 13.00

Session II:  Practical session on the use of the SPS IMS  
   

Participants will break into three groups (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers and (iii) Spanish speakers.

  • 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?
  • The SPS IMS and resolving trade concerns
  • SPS IMS exercises
 
     
15.00 – 17.00

Session III:  Codex, OIE and IPPC online tools

15.00 – 15.30  

Access to current OIE standards, and supporting information available via WAHIS on the OIE website

Speaker: Derek Belton, Head International Trade Department, OIE
> presentation

15.30 – 15.50  

Access to current Codex standards and related information
Speaker: Selma Doyran, Secretary, Codex
> presentation

15.50 – 16.30  

Information available under the IPPC framework 

Speaker:  Yukio Yokoi, Secretary, IPPC
> presentation

16.30 – 17.00   Q&A

17.00 – 17.30

Session IV:  The integrated Trade Intelligence Portal (I-TIP)

What is I-TIP and its relationship with the SPS IMS

Speaker:  Jurgen Richtering, WTO Secretariat
> presentation

  17.30 – 18.00

Wrap up session first day

 

 

Tuesday, 16 October 2012

10.00 – 10.15  Session V:  Overview of the SPS NSS
 
  • Presentation of Members' level of implementation of transparency provisions and decisions (G/SPS/GEN/804/Rev.5)
  • How does the on-line submission facility work?
    > presentation

 

10.30 – 12.00 Session VI:  Practical session on how to prepare notifications (SPS NSS)
 

Participants will break into three groups (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers and (iii) Spanish speakers.

  • 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?
  • SPS NSS hands-on exercises

      
  12.00 – 12.30

Session VII:  Sharing of national experiences in the use of WTO online tools

 
 

Speakers: 

  • Hamid Lachhab, Director, Regulatory and Standardization Division, National Office for Food Safety, Morocco
    > presentation
  • Virginia Salazar Losilla, Officer in charge of SPS Notifications, SPS NNA, Ministry of Agriculture and livestock, Costa Rica
    > presentation

 

12.30 – 12.45 

Session VIII:  Identification of follow-up actions and evaluation of workshop

Facilitators:  Gretchen Stanton, Javier Ocampo, WTO Secretariat

 

12.45 – 13.00 

Closing remarks