What does the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement cover?
Published on March 15, 2001
Definitions
Sanitary and pytosanitary Measures
- protect against:
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
- established under:
Relevant laws, decrees, regulations, requirements and procedure
including, inter alia, end product criteria; processes and
production methods; testing, inspection, certification and
approval procedures; quarantine treatment including relevant
requirements associated with the transport of animals or
plants, or with the materials necessary for their survival
during transport; provisions on relevant statistical methods,
sampling procedures and methods or risk assessment; and
packaging and labeling requirements directly related to
food safety.
Harmonization - The establishment,
recognition and application of common sanitary and phytosanitary
measures by different Members.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CODEX)
- this body establishes food safety, the standards, guidelines
and recommendations, relating to food additives, veterinary
drug and pesticide residues, contaminants, methods, or analysis
and sampling as well as codes and guidelines of hygienic
practice
International Office of Epizootics (IOE)
- the standards, guidelines and recommendations for animal
health
International Plant Protection Convention
(IPPC) - for plant health, the international standards,
guidelines and recommendations developed in cooperation
with regional organizations.
Risk Assessment - The evaluation of
the likelihood of entry, establishment or spread of a pest
or disease within the territory of an importing Member according
to the sanitary or phytosanitary measures which might be
applied, and of the associated potential biological and
economical consequences; or of the evaluation of the potential
for adverse effects on human or animal health arising from
the presence of additives, contaminants, toxins or disease-causing
organisms in food, beverages or feedstuffs.
Appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary
protection (appropriate levels of risk) - The level
of protection deemed appropriate by the Member establishing
a sanitary or phytosanitary measure to protect human, animal
or plant life or health within its territory.
Pest or disease - free area - an area,
whether all of the country, part of a country, or all or
parts of several countries, as identified by the competent
authorities, in which a specific pest or disease does not
occur
Area of low pest or disease prevalence
- An area, whether all of a country, part of a country or
all or parts of several countries, as identified by the
competent authorities, in which a specific pest or disease
occurs at low levels and which is subject to effective surveillance,
control or eradication measures.
Introduction
The SPS Agreement allows WTO members the right
to protect humans, plant or animal life or health affected
by international trade. This right is granted to member
as long as the measures adopted have minimal negative effects
on trade. Furthermore, the SPS establishes a multilateral
framework under CODEX, IPPC and IOE, focusing on harmonization.
The framework includes rules and disciplines to guide the
development adoption and enforcement of SPS measures. The
SPS Agreement's main objective, however, is to promote safe
international trade of agricultural goods and commodities.
Harmonization, equivalence, consistency and
transparency are the foundations of SPS enforcement. Harmonization
stresses the need for common international heath, safety
and inspection standards for the food and agriculture industry.
Equivalence encourages countries to accept different nations'
standards as long as they are enacted and enforced with
the same goals. Consistency is maintained through a defined
order of operations, scientific method and scientific procedures,
which must be followed in order to ensure that the international
trade of goods does not poses a threat to society. Finally,
all decisions under the SPS Agreement affecting international
trade must be based on and supported by consistent scientific
evidence therefore ensuring transparency.
Highlights
Article 1
General Provisions:
The agreement applies to all SPS measures directly or indirectly
affecting trade
Article 2
Basic Rights and Obligation:
-
Measures shall be based on scientific
principles (except as provided in Article 5).
- They shall not unjustifiably discriminate between Members
where similar conditions prevail (constituting a disguised
restriction on international trade).
- Measures shall be in accordance with the obligations of
the Members under the provisions of GATT 1994 which relate
to the use of SPS measures.
Article 3
Harmonization:
- Measures necessary to protect human, animal or plant life
or health shall be based on international standards, guidelines
or recommendations.
- A member may introduce measures which result in a higher
level of SPS protection than would be achieved by international
standards if that member has scientific evidence to justify
them.
- Members must participate fully with the development and
periodic review of standards, guidelines and recommendations
with respect to all aspects of sanitary and phytosanitary
measures
- Procedures to monitor the process of international harmonization
will be developed by the Committee on SPS Measures
Article 4
Equivalence:
- Where a country bases a measure on an international standard,
recommendation or guideline, the measure is presumed to
be consistent with the Agreement
- If an Exporting Member's SPS measures differ from an Importing
Member's measures, the Importer must still accept the standards
as equivalent where the Exporter can prove the measures
achieve the same level of SPS protection.
Article 5
Assessment of Risk and Determination of the Appropriate
Level of Sanitary or Phytosanitary Protection
- Assessment techniques used to develop measures must be
based on techniques developed by CODEX, IPPC or IOE.
- Assessment techniques must include proper scientific method,
prevalence of diseases or pests, disease/pest- free areas,
relevant ecological and environmental conditions and other
treatments.
- Members shall take into account economic factors resulting
from sales, spread of a pest or disease and the cost to
controlling the outbreak.
- Members should avoid measures that will result in negative
trade effects.
- Members shall avoid unjustifiable distinctions in the
levels it considers to be appropriate in different situations,
if such distinctions result in discrimination or a disguised
restriction on international trade.
- When establishing a new level of protection, measures
may not be more trade restrictive than required.
- Where relevant scientific evidence is insufficient, a
Member may adopt a measure on the basis of pertinent information,
as well as from international organizations and from measures
applied by other members. However the member must seek addition
information necessary for a more objective assessment of
risk and review the measures accordingly with in a reasonable
period of time.
- If a measure is constraining, an explanation of the reasons
for such a measure may be requested and shall be provided
by the member maintaining the measure.
Warning (Article 5.7): "In cases where relevant scientific
evidence is insufficient, a Members may provisionally adopt
sanitary or phytosanitary measures on the basis of available
pertinent information…or phytosanitary measures applied by
other Members."
Article 6
Adaptation to Regional Conditions, Including Pest- or Disease-Free
Areas and Areas of Low Pest or Disease Prevalence
- SPS measures shall be adopted according to the characteristics
of an area, regional specific. ·
- Creation of pest/disease-free areas shall be based on
geography, ecosystems, epidemiological surveillance and
the effectiveness of SPS controls ·
- An Importing Member may require an Exporting Member to
prove that their goods come from a pest/disease-free area.
For this purpose, reasonable access shall be given to the
importing member for inspection, testing and other relevant
procedures.
Article 7
Transparency ·
- Members shall notify each other of changes in their SPS
measures and provide information on their sanitary or phytosanitary
measures. ·
- Countries must notify the WTO of new or amended measures
that may have an impact on trade, and maintain an inquiry
point to respond to requests for information on the notified
measures.
Article 8
Control, Inspection and Approval Procedures ·
- Member's operation controls, inspection procedures and
levels of tolerance must be consistent with the provisions
of this agreement
Article 9
Technical Assistance ·
- Developed countries shall aid developing countries with
technical expertise, training and equipment to allow such
countries to adjust to, and to comply with SPS measures
necessary to achieve the appropriate level of sanitary or
phytosanitary protection in their export market.
Article 10
Special and Differential Treatment ·
- Members shall take into account special needs of developing
and least-developed Members ·
- Longer time-frames for compliance should be allowed on
products of developing countries
- The Committee is enabled to grant developing and least-developed
Members exceptions from obligations under this Agreement
·
- Developing countries should actively participate in relevant
international organizations
Article 11
Consultations and Dispute Settlements ·
- Dispute settlements should follow the provisions of Articles
XXII and XXIII of GATT '94 ·
- In a Dispute a panel should seek experts to consult with
the parties. Either party may request an advisory technical
experts group, which the panel will also provide for them.
·
- Nothing in the Agreement shall impair the rights of Members
under other international agreements.
Article 12
Administration ·
- The committee shall meet regularly. Any decisions made
by the committee will done in consensus ·
- The committee will facilitate negotiations among Members;
however, will encourage the use of international standards,
guidelines or recommendations by all Members. ·
- The committee will be in close contact with CODEX, IPPC
and IOE · The committee shall develop a procedure to monitor
the process of international harmonization and the use of
international standards, guidelines and recommendations.
·
- The committee may require from Members information about
procedures to avoid duplication ·
- The committee may send CODEX, IPPC, IOE or one of the
subsidiary bodies to inspect specific matters ·
- The committee shall review the operation and implementation
of this agreement as the need arises.
Article 13
Implementation ·
-
Members are fully responsible to comply
with the relevant provisions of the Agreement
Article 7
Transparency · The following is a procedure to bring
about a new SPS ruling
-
Identification of potentially negative
effects
-
A scientific evaluation of the risk that
is impossible to determine with sufficient certainty the
risk in question
-
Precautionary principle should start with
a scientific evaluation identifying the degree of scientific
uncertainty
-
Assessment of the potential consequences
of inaction should be considered by decision-makers
-
All interested parties should be involved
in the procedure to be as transparent as possible
-
There should be an economic cost/benefit
analysis why this is appropriate and feasible. It should
also be guided by non-economic considerations such as
the protection of health
-
The measures shall be maintained as long
as the scientific data remain incomplete
-
Measures depends on the developments which
should be reevaluated
-
Measures should be reexamined and modified
-
Assign responsibility for producing the
scientific evidence necessary for a comprehensive risk
evaluation
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