RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SPS/R/1
8May1995
ORGANIZATION(95-1200)
Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
SUMMARY OFTHE MEETING HELD ON
29-30 MARCH 1995
Note bytheSecretariat
1. The Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures held itsfirst meeting on
29-30 March 1995 under thechairmanship ofAmbassador KariBergholm (Finland). Theagenda of
themeeting, contained inWTO/AIR/35, wasadopted.
Rules ofProcedure
2. TheChairman recalled thatRules ofProcedure hadbeenadopted bytheWTO General Council
butnotyetbytheCouncil inGoods. Pending adecision bythatbody, theSPSCommittee agreed
onworking procedures toguide theCommittee 'sworkduring thepresent andtheforthcoming meetings
(G/SPS/1). Towhatextent theproposed working procedures might beincorporated informal Rules
ofProcedure fortheSPSCommittee willbeconsidered attheCommittee 'ssecond meeting.
Participation inMeetings
3. TheChairman recalled theGeneral Council 'sdecision on20January 1995 permitting (until
endJuly1995) theparticipation bycertain signatories oftheFinal Actinformal andinformal meetings
ofWTO bodies other thantheTextiles Monitoring Body (WT/L27). TheCommittee tooknoteof
thisdecision andwelcomed theparticipation ofthese signatories.
4. TheChairman noted thatcertain governments which were intheprocess ofacceding tothe
WTO, orhadinitiated negotiations todoso,orhaddeclared theirintention todosointhenearfuture,
hadbeeninvited toattend meetings oftheGeneral Council asobservers. TheCommittee agreed that
suchgovernments bewelcomed toattend meetings oftheSPSCommittee iftheysorequested, except
ifandwhen itwould beconsidered appropriate toholdclosed sessions withparticipation ofMembers
only. TheSPSCommittee agreed toproceed likewise withregards toanyother government which
maybegranted observer status intheGeneral Council.
5. Onedelegation suggested thatobserver governments should berequested toprovide specific
information withrespect totheirSPSmeasures. TheSecretariat wasrequested toprepare, incooperation
withinterested Members, apaper describing whatkindofinformation might inthefuture berequested
from observer governments.G/SPS/R/1
Page2
6. Concerning international intergovernmental organizations, theChairman recalled thenewly
adopted working procedures and,noting theinvitation extended therein, welcomed therepresentatives
ofthefollowing bodies:
- FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex),
- Office international desepizooties (OIE),
- FAO Secretariat fortheInternational Plant Protection Convention (IPPC).
7. Itwasobserved thatitwasimportant fortheworkoftheCommittee toinvite those organizations
responsible forthedevelopment ofrelevant international standards. Regarding theparticipation of
other international organizations asobservers, theCommittee decided torevert tothissubject atits
nextmeeting, towhich onlyCodex, OIEandIPPC would beinvited.
Notification
8. TheChairman underlined thedifference between thetwotransparency procedures oftheSPS
Agreement,namelynotificationandenquirypoints.Whiletheobjectiveoftheenquirypointistorespond
toanyrequests forinformation onexisting orplanned SPSmeasures, notifications arerequired tobe
submitted, without aspecific request, foranyplanned SPSregulations which mayhaveasignificant
effect ontrade. Furthermore, while there isarequirement thatanational government body be
responsible fornotification procedures, there isnosuchrequisite forenquiry points.
9. With regard tonotifications received todate, theSecretariat indicated thatanumber of
notifications hadbeenincorrectly submitted under theTBTAgreement instead oftheSPSAgreement.
Furthermore, several notifications hadbeensubmitted asemergency notifications without therequired
indication ofthenature oftheemergency andreason whyadvance notice wasnotpossible. Several
notifications wereincomplete. TheSecretariat reported thatnotifications werecurrently being translated
anddistributed within 3to4daysaftertheirreceipt, distribution being made onlytolocaldelegations
andobservers.
10. TheCommittee considered thenotification procedures which hadbeenrecommended bythe
informal contact group (PC/IPL/6). Thedelegation ofNorway suggested thatfurther clarification was
needed withregard totheconcept of"significant effect ontrade" and,inparticular, howthiswasto
beassessed. Itwasalsosuggested thataspecific notification formforemergency caseswould beuseful,
andthatproblematic notifications bediscussed atfuture meetings inorder tofurther understanding
ontheissue.
11. TheSecretariat wasrequested toprepare apossible format fornotification ofemergency actions,
topropose aclarification ofthenotification procedures withregard to"significant effect ontrade"
andtoprepare apaper identifying problems innotifications received. Subject tothese points, the
Committee agreed ontherecommended notification procedures.
Enquiry Points
12. Annex BoftheAgreement requires eachWTO Member toidentify asingle enquiry point per
country withrespect toSPSmeasures. However, anumber ofMembers hadsubmitted more than
oneenquiry point totheSecretariat. Participants whohadyettocomply withthisobligation were
urged todosobefore mid-April 1995.
13. TheCommittee agreed thatajointSPSandTBTspecial meeting onthesubject ofinformation
procedures (notification andenquiry points) could facilitate theimplementation ofthese proceduresG/SPS/R/1
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bysome Members, andrequested theChairman andtheSecretariat tofurther explore thepossibility
ofscheduling suchameeting before theendof1995.
RiskAssessment
14. Thethree observer international organizations (Codex, OIEandIPPC) reported onwork they
haddone intheareaofriskanalysis aswellastheirplans forfuture work. Their statements have
beenissued asthefollowing SPSdocuments:
- FAO/Codex Alimentarius G/SPS/W/9
- OIE G/SPS/W/8
- IPPC G/SPS/W/10
15. Many participants welcomed thework undertaken bythetechnical organizations inthisregard,
although someexpressed theconcern thatthepaceofdevelopments wastooslow. Anumber ofdelegates
stressed thattheCommittee mustsoonaddress whatitsroleshould bewithrespect toriskassessment
andthework ofthetechnical organizations.
16. Summarizing thediscussion, theChairman concluded thattheCommittee should keepupto
datewithrelevant activities oftheinternational organizations. Second, theCommittee should, through
theirrespective national governments, support thework oftheinternational organizations inthisarea.
Third, delegations should consider howtheinternational organizations could beusedtofurther the
work oftheSPSCommittee, inparticular withrespect toriskassessment. Finally, theChairman noted
thattheareaofriskassessment wasanemerging fieldofknowledge, andonetaskoftheCommittee
wastoprovide guidance toMembers inorder tofacilitate theimplementation oftheprovisions ofthe
Agreement.
Consistency inRiskManagement
17. TheChairman observed thattheCommittee wasexplicitly tasked bytheSPSAgreement with
thedevelopmentofguidelineswithrespecttoconsistencyinriskmanagement.TheAustraliandelegation
presented adiscussion paper theyhadbeenrequested toprovide inorder tofacilitate theCommittee 's
considerationofthisissue(G/SPS/W/7).TherepresentativeofAustralianotedthattheterm"consistency
inriskmanagement" wasanother wayofexpressing therequirement inArticle 5.5oftheAgreement
that"..eachMember shallavoid arbitrary orunjustifiable distinction inthelevels itconsiders tobe
appropriate indifferent situations...".
18. Many participants stressed theimportance ofthisdiscipline toensure thattheAgreement
functioned ashadbeenintended, andtheneedfortheCommittee tocontinue towork onthismatter.
19. Therepresentative ofNewZealand suggested thatitwould beuseful toidentify country specific
riskprofiles ,which would behelpful inassessing consistency atanational levelandcould eventually
form thebasis forcomparing processes attheinternational level. TheNorwegian delegate recalled
thatArticle 5.5referred totheobjective ofachieving consistency inriskmanagement; theexpressed
obligation wastoavoid unjustifiable andarbitrary discrimination. Theacceptance ofriskarising from
traditional foods, ornon-acceptance bythepublic ofother risks, hadtobeconsidered inthisregard.
TherepresentativeofAustraliaobservedthatthetextoftheAgreementrecognizedthatcertainvoluntarily
accepted risks needed tobeaddressed inadifferent manner, butthatconsistency inother risk
management decisions would ensure thatthese were notarbitrary orunjustifiable.G/SPS/R/1
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20. TheChairman noted theimportance attributed bytheCommittee totheprinciple ofconsistency
inriskmanagement inensuring theefficiency oftheSPSAgreement. Hesuggested thatthe
distinction -aspresented intheAustralian paper -between theapproaches toconsistency atanational
levelandinternational levelmight beuseful totheorganization offurther workonthisissue. Regarding
theapproach toconsistency atthenational level,thetaskoftheCommittee wastoprovide
guidelines -thequestion athandwashowandwhen tostartwork. Asafirststep,theSecretariat was
requested toprepare abackground paper identifying some keyissues which could further thought and
discussions intheareaofconsistency inriskmanagement. Regarding theapproach toconsistency
attheinternational level,theChairman noted thatamore profound discussion attheCommittee 'snext
meeting wasnecessary. Countries which already hadestablished procedures ofriskassessment on
thenational level, andwhich hadidentified their ownriskprofile, were requested toprovide the
Committee withtherelevant information before thenextmeeting.
Monitoring theUseofInternational Standards
21. Article 12.4oftheAgreement states thattheCommittee shall"develop aprocedure tomonitor
theprocess ofinternational harmonization andtheuseofinternational standards, guidelines or
recommendations". TheEuropean Community expressed theirwillingness toproduce abackground
paper onthesubject forthenextmeeting. Theobjective ofthispaper would betohelpdevelop thinking
intheareainorder toincite further discussion.
22. Aquestion wasraised regarding thenumber ofstandards tobemonitored -thekeyconcern
being howtodetermine which standards "have amajor tradeimpact" (Article 12.4). Ahighly focused
approach directed towards themore relevant standards forthework oftheCommittee wasurged.
Such anapproach would alsoserve thedesired purpose ofindicating tointernational organizations
where, intheviewoftheCommittee, thepriorities lie.
23. Theinternational organizations were asked iftheycould inform theCommittee, atitsnext
meeting, ofthecurrent situation regarding theacceptance oftheirstandards bygovernments. The
Secretariat wasrequested toprepare adocument, incooperation withthethree observer international
organizations, establishing alistofexisting international standards, guidelines andrecommendations,
and,totheextent practical, include anindication astowhen these were adopted andlastrevised.
Technical Assistance
24. TheChairman recalled thatthrough Article 9oftheAgreement Members hadagreed tofacilitate
theprovision oftechnical assistance toother Members, either bilaterally orthrough international
organizations. Inthisregard, theSecretariat made abriefpresentation concerning theiractivities.
(i) Seminars .Incooperation withtheSecretariats oftheCodex Alimentarius, OIEandIPPC,
regional seminars werebeing organized invarious developing countries. Theobjective ofthese
seminars wasbasically toexplain theobligations ofMember countries under theSPSAgreement
andhowtheworkofthethreeinternational organizations mentioned above could assist countries
inmeeting them. Thefirstseminar washeldinBangkok inNovember 1994. Three more
arecurrently scheduled for1995 -oneinMexico City(11-12 May) andtwoinAfrica (South
Africa andSenegal, tentatively inNovember). However, funding posed serious problems with
regard toparticipation oftherelevant government officials andtheorganization offurther
seminars.G/SPS/R/1
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(ii) Information booklet .TheSecretariat hadpublished aninformation booklet entitled
"Understanding theSPSAgreement". Thebooklet, designed forpublic use,dealsparticularly
withfoodsafety issues andisavailable attheSecretariat.
(iii) Geneva-based assistance .Inaddition, theSecretariat continues tohaveGeneva based meetings
withdelegations attheirrequest, inorder toprovide information andassistance.
25. TheFAO/CodexAlimentariusrepresentativepresentedapaper(G/SPS/W/11)concerningFAO's
activities inassisting developing countries. Thetechnical assistance activities oftheOIE,aspresented
during themeeting, were reported inG/SPS/W/8.
Other Business
Internal Regulatory Processes
26. Several participants introduced papers which theyhadprepared providing summary descriptions
oftheirinternal SPSregulatory processes. These areavailable asSPSdocuments:
- Australia G/SPS/W/5
- Canada G/SPS/W/4
- NewZealand G/SPS/W/3
- United States G/SPS/W/6
Other delegations wereencouraged toalsoprovide suchinformation asthiswould further transparency
andunderstanding inthearea. TheCommittee would, inaddition, welcome information regarding
anychanges oramendments tothenational regulatory procedures intheMember countries resulting
from theSPSAgreement.
Practice forExchange ofInformation
27. Itwasnoted thatArticles 4and6oftheAgreement could potentially require anextensive
exchange ofdocumentation. Thepoint wasmade thattherespective responsibilities ofparties in
producing information which would allow SPSmeasures tobeestablished, oradecision inthisregard
tobemade, needed further clarification. TheUnited States presented adraftpaper onthesubject of
datarequirement fortheassessment ofdisease-free areaclaims tohelpinitiate discussion onthismatter.
Thequestion wasposed astowhether international organizations could provide anyguidance forthe
Committee inthisrespect, based onexisting practices.
28. Itwasconcluded thatitwould beuseful fortheCommittee tolearn more about existing
arrangements regarding theexchange ofdocumentation between parties, andtothisend,Members
andtheobserver organizations wereencouraged toprovide relevant information. TheCommittee agreed
torevert tothismatter atitsnextmeeting under anagenda itementitled "Identification ofpractices
forexchange ofinformation".
Other
29. TheCommittee agreed thatthepapers presented and/or submitted during thecourse ofthe
meeting, amended asappropriate, beissued asSPSdocuments.
30. TheChairman requested theSecretariat toprepare onitsownresponsibility asummary ofthe
main points ofthemeeting.G/SPS/R/1
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Date andProposed Agenda ofNext Meeting
31. Thesecond meeting oftheSPSCommittee istentatively scheduled for26-27 June1995,
beginning at3:00PMonMonday, 26June.
32. Thefollowing provisional agenda wasagreed:
A. Adoption oftheagenda
B. Rules ofprocedure
C. Observers: international organizations
D. Notification:
Guidelines
Consideration ofspecific notifications received
E. Monitoring ofuseofinternational standards
F. Riskassessment
G. Consistency inriskmanagement
H. Identification ofpractices forexchange ofinformation
I. Technical assistance
J. Other business
K. Dateandagenda ofnextmeeting