   
  
G/SPS/GEN/2105  
 
3 March 2 023 
(23-1461) Page: 1/1 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
OECD SIDE EVENT  
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY (SPS) APPROVAL PROCEDURES: KEY ISSUES,  
THEIR IMPACT ON TRADE AND WAYS TO ADDRESS THEM  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE OECD  
The followi ng communication, received on 1 March 2023, is being circulated at the request of the 
OECD . 
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1.  Approval procedures are critical to Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) systems as they uphold 
countries' commitments to facilitate safe trade. However, they can create significant costs and act 
as non -tariff barriers if not properly administered. This report examines the costs and opportunities 
that are associated with seven of the most pressing issues related to the administration of approval 
procedures. The analysis reveals that countries h ave increasingly raised specific trade concerns 
(STCs) to the WTO about issues related to approval procedures. Furthermore, gravity analysis 
demonstrates that trading partners dealing with STCs related to approval procedures trade 26% less 
on average than those not dealing with any STC. An OECD survey specifically designed to evaluate 
how issues related to approval procedures can be addressed indicates that multiple solutions exist 
to enhance efficiencies in agro -food trade, such as digitalizing SPS systems , relying on international 
standards or simplifying SPS measures.  
2.  This report will be presented during a Side Event to the SPS Committee Meeting on 22 March 
2023, from 14:00 -14:50. The meeting will be held under a hybrid format and can be accessed online 
by registering at this link  or attended in -person in Room S3.  
3.  The event agenda is the following:  
14:00  Introductory remarks  
 Camille Fl échet (moderator), Dispute Settlement Lawyer , WTO  
14:05  Presentation of the report  
 Annelies Deuss, Senior Agricultural Policy Analyst, OECD  
 Edith Laget, Agricultural Policy Analyst, OECD  
14:35  Questions and discussion  
14:50  Closing remarks  
 Camille Fl échet, Dispute Settlement Lawyer , WTO  
4.  This report has been published as an OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Paper on 14 February 
2023:  
Deuss, A. and E. Laget (2023), "Sanitary and phytosanitary approval procedures: Key issues, 
their impact on trade, and ways to address them", OECD Food, Agriculture and Fisheries 
Papers, No. 192, OECD Publishing, Paris, https://doi.org/10.1787/35c3fd16 -en. 
Contact:  Annelies Deuss (annelies.deuss@oecd.org ) 
 
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