RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SPS/R/3
15December 1995
ORGANIZATION(95-4074)
Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
SUMMARY OFTHE MEETING HELD ON
15-16 NOVEMBER 1995
Note bytheSecretariat
1. TheCommitteeonSanitaryandPhytosanitaryMeasures("theCommittee")helditsthirdmeeting
on15-16 November 1995 under thechairmanship ofAmbassador KariBergholm (Finland).
2. Theagenda proposed inWTO/AIR/202, including additions enumerated intheairgram, and
withsome additional issues raised under Other Business wasadopted.
Observers
3. Observers from theCodex Alimentarius Commission, theOIE(Office International des
Epizooties), theIPPC (International Plant Protection Convention), theFAO andtheWHO were
welcomed. Furthermore, theCommittee agreed, onanadhocbasis, toinvite theITC(International
Trade Centre) andtheISO(International Standards Organization) asobservers, thelatter inviewof
thedirectly relevant work undertaken byISOrelated tofoodsafety. Adecision withrespect tothe
OECD wasdeferred intheabsence ofaspecific request fromthisorganization. Pending theadoption
offormal guidelines bytheGeneral Council, relating toregional inter-governmental organizations and
non-governmental organizations, theCommittee agreed torevert totherequest forobserver status from
theInter-American Institute forAgricultural Cooperation (IICA) andtheInternational SeedFederation
atafuture meeting.
Implementation oftheAgreement -Information from Members
4. Members wereinvited toinform theCommittee ofanymeasures theyhadtaken which were
relevant totheimplementation oftheAgreement, orspecific problems which theyhadencountered
inthisregard. Information hadbeenpreviously provided onnational regulatory procedures byAustralia
(G/SPS/W/7), Canada (G/SPS/W/4), Japan (G/SPS/W/26), NewZealand (G/SPS/W/3) andtheUnited
States (G/SPS/W/6).
5. TherepresentativeofChilepresentedapaperonChile'sregulatoryframeworkfortheelaboration
andadoption ofsanitary andphytosanitary measures (G/SPS/W/39).
6. Inresponse toaquestion regarding thetime-frame forUSregulatory procedures (asdescribed
inG/SPS/W/6), therepresentative oftheUnited States noted thatatimetablewasnotpossible asthe
delays involved depended oncomments received ontheproposed SPSmeasure, andtheextent towhich
these entailed further modifications oftheproposal.G/SPS/R/3
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7. Thedelegate from theUnited States expressed serious concern thattheKorean government
hadnot,initsopinion, implemented theUnited States-Korean settlement onshelf-life asnotified on
20July(G/SPS/W/27). Thefullstatement made bytheUnited States, aswellastheresponse from
Korea, arereproduced inG/SPS/W/41 and/43,respectively. TheCanadian andEuropean Community
representatives alsoexpressed concern regarding access totheKorean market inthisrespect. Canada
informed theCommittee thatithadrequested Article XXIIconsultations withKorea relating toshelf-life
determination forbottled water andtheprohibition oftheuseofozonation.
8. TheKorean representative confirmed thatbottled water wasexcluded fromtheUnited States-
Korea settlement. Korea was,however, willing toenter intoconsultations withCanada tosolve the
issue tothemutual benefit ofbothcountries.
Matters ofinterest arising from thework ofObserver Organizations
9. Representatives from theCodex (G/SPS/W/42), IPPC (G/SPS/W/44), OIEandtheWHO
(G/SPS/W/37) reported ontheirrecent activities ofinterest tothework oftheSPSCommittee.
10. Therepresentative ofCodex reported thatatthe21stSession oftheCodex Alimentarius
Commission (CAC) inJuly1995, anumber ofsteps hadbeentaken inorder fortheCAC torespond
morecomprehensively totheneeds ofboththeSPSandTBT(Technical Barriers toTrade) Agreements.
Furthermore,theFAOhad,atits28thSession,stronglysupportedthescientificallybasedstandard-setting
process usedbytheCAC bothbecause ofitsimportance toFAOMember States andbecause ofFAO's
commitment inhelping these members implement theresults oftheUruguay Round.
11. TheCommittee wasinformed thatWTO Deputy Director-General Hoda hadheldhigh-level
consultations withhiscounterparts intheFAO, WHO andOIE. Oneresult ofthose consultations had
been thesuggestion thattheSPSCommittee consider theresource needs ofthestandard-setting
organizations atitscurrent meeting. TheCodex representative stressed thattheCodex workprogramme
wasstretched tothelimitandthatanyfurther requests forexpansion oracceleration oftheirwork
should beconsidered onlytotheextent additional resources weremade available. Therepresentatives
oftheIPPC andoftheOIEindicated thattheirorganizations faced similar constraints.
12. Manyparticipantsexpressedtheirappreciationfortheworkofthestandard-settingorganizations,
aswellassympathywithregardtotheirresourceneeds.SomeparticipantsnotedthattheSPSCommittee
wasnottheappropriate bodytoaddress thebudgetary needs ofthestandard-setting organizations and
didnothavethecompetence totakeanydecisions inthisregard. Therepresentative oftheUnited
StatesinformedtheCommitteethatitwasendeavouringtostimulatemoreactiveparticipationofproducer
andconsumer groups intheCodex process, mobilizing theuseofnon-governmental resources.
Transparency
13. TheChairman informed theCommittee thattheSpecial joint SPS/TBT meeting onthe
transparency provisions ofbothAgreements, heldon6-7November 1995, hadprovided agood
opportunity forofficials directly involved withthepreparation ofnotifications andintheoperation
ofEnquiry Points todiscuss related practical andtechnical matters. Although nodecisions hadbeen
taken, anumber ofsuggestions emanated fromthespecial meeting, asreported inG/SPS/W/33. While
thereport willbeconsidered inmore detail atthenextCommittee meeting, theCommittee already
agreed thatE-mail addresses beadded tothelistofEnquiry Points (documents inthe/ENQ/ series).
Inaddition, theSecretariat agreed togiveMembers theoption toindicate onesingle address, even
ifnotthelocalmission, where notifications could bemailed .G/SPS/R/3
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14. MostparticipantssupportedaproposalbytheUnitedStatesthatSPSnotificationsbede-restricted
toenhance theefficiency ofthehandling ofnotifications aswellasthetransparency objectives ofthe
SPSAgreement. Although under existing procedures theCommittees could takedecisions (adhoc)
withregard tothede-restriction ofitsdocuments, some Members feltthatanydecisions would be
prematureandthattheCommitteeshouldawaitahorizontaldecisionbytheGeneralCouncilondocument
derestriction. TheCommittee agreed torevert tothisissue atitsnextmeeting.
15. With regard tothefunctioning ofthenotification procedures under theSPSAgreement, the
representativeoftheEuropeanCommunitystressedtheimportanceofclarity;thesubstanceandobjective
oftheproposed measure should beclearly discernable from thenotification inorder forittoserve
itsintended purpose. Furthermore, heemphasized theimportance ofMembers having sufficient time
tocomment onthese notifications and,also, forMembers torespond adequately torequests for
information onnotifications.
16. AtitsJune1995 meeting, theCommittee approved aseparate format tobeusedforthe
notification ofemergency measures according toparagraph 6ofAnnex BoftheSPSAgreement
(G/SPS/4). Recommended procedures fortheuseofsuchaformat weresubsequently suggested by
theSecretariat (G/SPS/W/30). TheSecretariat wasrequested torevise therecommended procedures
totakeintoaccount thecomments andsuggestions made bydelegations forconsideration atthenext
meeting oftheCommittee.
17. Members whohadnotyetprovided thename andaddress oftheirsingle national notification
authority (G/SPS/5) wererequested toprovide theinformation totheSecretariat asquickly aspossible.
Monitoring theUseofInternational Standards
18. Articles 3:5and12:4oftheSPSAgreement statethattheCommittee shall, inconjunction with
therelevant international organizations, develop procedures tomonitor theuseofinternational standards
ofmajor trade importance. Theobserver organizations have, tothisend,provided documentation
regardingtheirexistinginternationalstandards,guidelinesandrecommendations-containedindocuments
G/SPS/W/18 andCorr.1 (Codex standards), G/SPS/W/21 (OIE standards) andG/SPS/W/23 (IPPC
standards). Theorganizations were invited toregularly update thisinformation.
19. TheEuropean Community informed theCommittee thatitwasfinalizing thedocument ithas
agreedtoprepareregardingaproposalforthemonitoringofinternationalharmonization.TheCommittee
wasadvised thatthedocument would bemade available inadvance ofthenextmeeting.
RiskAssessment
20. Therepresentative ofAustralia introduced arevised version ofitsearlier paper entitled "Risk
Assessment andManagement inSetting Food Standards forAdditives andContaminants inAustralia",
circulated asG/SPS/W/24/Rev.1.
21. Therepresentative ofJapan provided information onthecurrent situation ofriskassessment
inJapan withregard tobothanimal andplant health. Heindicated thatintheareaofanimal health,
Japan'squarantine measures weremainly based onnon-quantitative riskassessment. Aspecialist group
hadbeensetuptoapply riskassessment onanexperimental basis andthisgroup would, during the
fiscal year1995, work onthetopicof"Risk ofintroduction andoutbreak ofFootandMouth Disease
(FMD) disease inimporting beeffrom Uruguay".G/SPS/R/3
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22. Therepresentative ofUruguay voiced hissatisfaction with-andgratitude towards -countries
thathadworked withUruguay inthecontext ofriskassessment andFMD. Heinformed theCommittee
thatthere hadbeenasignificant andfruitful exchange between Uruguay andother Members which
hadledtopositive results interms ofwork undertaken bytheEuropean Community, theUnited States
and,now, Japan.
23. Therepresentative ofChile inquired whether delegations hadexamples orexperiences from
relevantquantitativeriskassessmentstudiesthatcouldbesharedwiththeCommittee.Therepresentative
ofNorway suggested thattheCommittee should compile concrete examples ofdifferent approaches
toriskassessment, andthatthefieldofquantitative analysis needed further work. Therepresentative
ofArgentina agreed thatitwould beuseful fortheCommittee toconcentrate ontrade-relevant cases
ofriskassessment, butshould avoid venturing intotheareas ofcompetence ofthestandard-setting
organizations.
Consistency intheApplication oftheConcept oftheAppropriate Level ofProtection
24. TheChairman recalled thatArticle 5:5oftheAgreement required theCommittee todevelop
guidelinestofurthertheimplementationofconsistencyintheapplicationoftheconceptoftheappropriate
levelofprotection.Preliminaryideashadbeendiscussedatpreviousmeetingsonthebasisofadocument
putforward byAustralia (G/SPS/W/5) andanoteonthedrafting history ofthisprovision provided
bytheSecretariat (G/SPS/W/16).
25. Therepresentative oftheUnited States indicated thathisgovernment hadspent considerable
timeandeffort trying todevelop draftguidelines thatwould further thepractical implementation of
thisprovision, taking intoconsideration theabove-mentioned papers. However, thetheoretical nature
ofthesubject, thelackofpractical examples andtheconfusion ofterms hadthwarted theirefforts.
Intheviewoftherepresentative oftheUnited States, thelackofguidelines onconsistency didnot
nullify theeffectiveness oftheSPSAgreement, given theobligation embodied inthelanguage ofArticle
5:5:"...toavoidarbitraryandunjustifiabledistinctions...".WhilenotsuggestingtheCommitteeabandon
aneffort todevelop guidelines, hesuggested thatintheneartermtheCommittee might better progress
ifitfocused onother tasks, suchasthedevelopment ofprocedures tomonitor theuseofinternational
standards, guidelines andrecommendations. Under thecircumstances, theUnited States suggested
thattheChairman conduct informal consultations withindividual Members inorder toidentify ways
tobring thework oftheCommittee forward inthisarea.
26. Mostparticipants supported thesuggestion oftheUnited States, noting thatwhile theimportance
ofthisprovision wasindisputable, Members werefinding theprovision difficult todealwithonthe
practical level. Furthermore, itwasnoted thatthere remained adivergence ofopinions withregard
tothemeaning of"consistency intheapplication oftheconcept oftheappropriate levelofprotection".
Therepresentative ofKorea stressed theimportance oftaking intoconsideration thediverse technical
andeconomic conditions ofMembers assetoutinArticle 5:6oftheSPSAgreement.
27. Itwasagreed thattheChairman would consult informally withinterested delegations withthe
objective ofclarifying different understandings oftheconcept ofconsistency andtoendeavour toidentify
howtheCommittee could most effectively proceed.G/SPS/R/3
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Other Specific SPSIssues
28. AnumberofMembershadsuggestedthattheCommitteebegintoconsidercommonor"generic"
SPStrade concerns, asforeseen inArticle 12:2oftheAgreement, andtheChairman proposed that
suchissues begiven separate headings intheagenda offuture meetings.
29. TheCommittee hadalready begun toaddress onesuchgeneric issueatitsJune1995meeting,
namelytheidentificationofpracticesandrequirementsfortheexchangeofinformationbetweenMembers.
TheUnited States hadpreviously provided theCommittee withapaper regarding itspractices inthis
respect (G/SPS/W/25).
30. Therepresentative ofNewZealand introduced apaper onhisgovernment 'sapproach with
regard tothedevelopment andimplementation ofplant import health standards (G/SPS/W/36). He
observed thatthepreparation ofthisinformation fortheCommittee hadhelped theirownsystematization
oftheprocesses involved intheareaandencouraged other delegations toprovide similar information.
Hefurther suggested thatitcould beuseful tolookforcommon elements inWTO Members 'approaches
tothesubject.
31. Therepresentative ofChile introduced adocument (G/SPS/W/38) describing thedifferent
multilateral andbilateral agreements currently ineffect inthesanitary andphytosanitary fieldinwhich
Chile participates.
32. Therepresentative ofAustralia introduced apaper onthe"Development andApplication of
Residue Limits toFoods inTrade under WTO SPSPrinciples" (G/SPS/W/34). Delegations commended
theAustralian document asonethataddressed precisely anissue ofageneric nature where thetrade
implications werepotentially significant andwhere theimportance andappropriateness fordiscussion
intheSPSCommittee wasclear. Therepresentative ofCodex informed theCommittee thatparallel
work inthisareawasbeing doneandwould beforthcoming. TheChairman noted thesignificance
ofexchanging information withtheCodex inthisarea. Contributions fromMembers onother generic
issues related totheimplementation oftheSPSAgreement were encouraged.
Technical Assistance
33. TheSecretariat reported ontheregional seminars ithadorganized inAfrica, oneinDakar,
Senegal (2-3November 1995), andtheother inPretoria, South Africa (7-8November 1995). Foreign
participation inDakar hadbeenmeagre, primarily duetolackoffinancial support fordelegates, but
alsoduetoproblems related tothedissemination ofinformation intheregion, despite considerable
efforts onthepartoftheSecretariat tooffset this. InPretoria, ontheother hand, participation had
beensatisfactory. Theseminars hadidentified problems withregard to(i)transparency mechanisms
(notificationproceduresandEnquiryPoints);(ii)theinfrastructureofsanitaryandphytosanitaryservices;
(iii)confusion withregard totheuseofnational, regional orinternational standards; (iv)theuseof
riskassessment, andlastly, (v)theperception thatdeveloped countries arerequiring stricter standards
thanthose setoutbytherelevant international organizations.
34. TheSecretariat stressed theneedforfollow-up tothese twoseminars andacknowledged with
appreciation thegenerous contribution made byNorway fortechnical assistance; asmall partofthis
might beusedfortechnical assistance related totheSPSAgreement. Another Member hadoffered
tosponsor seminars forCentral andEastern European countries. ItwasalsotheSecretariat 'sintention
toholdaseminar insouthern Asiain1996. Appreciation wasexpressed totheCodex, OIEandthe
IPPC fortheirhelpful andforthcoming participation inthese seminars.G/SPS/R/3
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35. Therepresentative oftheCodex noted thecritical importance oftheseminars asameans to
make governments aware oftheSPSAgreement. Heindicated thattheFAO would soonprovide a
revision ofthepaper ontechnical assistance which ithadbeensubmitted atthefirstmeeting ofthe
Committee (G/SPS/W/11). Therepresentative oftheWHO noted thatitsdocument, circulated as
G/SPS/W/37,alsoincludedinformationontechnicalassistance.Furthermore,heinformedtheCommittee
ofaneffort undertaken bytheWHO toencourage thehealth sector, onaninternational level, tobecome
more involved inthework oftheSPSCommittee.
36. Therepresentative ofArgentina emphasized thatgreater dissemination andgreater participation
insimilar seminars wasnecessary. Henoted thattheOIERegional Commission fortheAmericas
willmeetinHavana, Cuba, March 1996 andindicated thatthiscould provide agood opportunity to
provide further information about theSPSAgreement. Chile informed theCommittee thattheSPS
Seminar which hadbeenheldinMay1995 inMexico hadledtoanational seminar inChile, with
plentiful participation, where SPSandTBTissues hadbeendiscussed.
Other Business
Calendar ofmeetings in1996
37. TheCommittee agreed onthefollowing tentative calendar ofmeetings for1996(thedates are
preliminary andsubject tofurther confirmation):
March 20-21
May29-30
October 8-9
Rules ofProcedure
38. TheChairman recalled thattheCommittee had,atitsMarch 1995meeting, agreed oninterim
working procedures pending adoption bytheCouncil forTrade inGoods ofitsownRules ofProcedure.
InthelightofthefactthattheCouncil hadnowadopted itsRules ofProcedure, andthatmany other
Committees haddone likewise, theChairman suggested thattheSecretariat draftproposed rules of
procedure fordiscussion atthenextmeeting oftheSPSCommittee.
Biosafety
39. Therepresentative ofNewZealand drew theCommittee 'sattention toanareawhich could
potentially haveimplications fortheSPSAgreement andforthework oftheCommittee, namely, the
intention oftheConvention onBiodiversity (Djakarta, Indonesia, 6-17November 1995) tolaunch
negotiations onaprotocol onbiosafety. Although theexact scope ofthenegotiations wasyetunclear,
theywere expected tofocus ontrans-boundary movement ofliving modified organisms. TheNew
Zealand delegation maintained thatthiscould have important potential ramifications fortheSPS
Agreement andwastherefore anareawhere co-ordination between thegovernment officials inthe
relevant areas would beimportant.
Other Issues
40. TheCommittee tooknoteoftheGeneral Council 'srecommendation regarding decisions which
mayhavefinancial implication.G/SPS/R/3
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41. TheSecretariat briefly reported ontheactivities oftheWorking Group onNotification
Procedures.
42. TheChairman noted thathehadbeenrequested bytheChairman oftheCouncil inTrade and
Goods tosubmit abrieffactual report regarding thework oftheSPSCommittee in1995, which he
would submit under hisownresponsibility (G/L/38).
Date andAgenda ofnextMeeting
43. Thefollowing provisional agenda forthemeeting ofthe20-21 March 1995 (tentative date)
wasagreed:
A. Adoption oftheagenda
B. Observers
C. Rules ofProcedure
D. Implementation oftheAgreement --information from Members
E. Matters ofinterest arising from thework ofobserver organizations
F. Transparency Provisions:
Consideration ofspecific notifications received
Proposed modifications tothenotification formats, guidelines andprocedures
Anymatters related totheoperation ofEnquiry Points
G. Monitoring ofuseofinternational standards
H. Riskassessment (general approach anddescription ofactual cases ofriskassessment)
I. Consistency
J. Identification ofpractices forexchange ofinformation
K. Development andapplication ofresidue limits
L. Other SPStrade issues
M. Technical assistance
N. Other business
O. Agenda ofnextmeeting