Transcript Overview of the SPS Agreement

Developing veterinary legislation
in a WTO context
OIE Global Conference on Veterinary Legislation
7-9 December 2010 (Djerba, Tunisia)
Melvin Spreij
Counsellor
Agriculture and Commodities Division
Location: Geneva,
Switzerland
Established:
1 January 1995
Membership:
153 countries
Budget: 185m Swiss
francs, 2008
Secretariat staff: ~650
Head: Pascal Lamy
(Director-general)
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WTO Members 2010
(153)
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Functions
• Negotiate trade
rules
• Implement trade
agreements
• Resolve trade
disputes
• Review national
trade policies
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The basic principles
• No discrimination
– Most favoured nation principle (MFN)
– National treatment principle
• Predictability
– Respect of tariff “bindings” (goods and services)
– Transparency (notification, TPR)
• Freer trade (suppression of barriers through negotiations)
– Tariff reductions
– Prohibition of using quantitative restrictions (quotas)
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Relevant WTO Agreements
•
•
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) – basic principles
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS
Agreement)
Member states must respect obligations
under WTO agreements when developing
veterinary legislation
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Objective of the SPS Agreement?
recognizing
right to protect
human, animal,
plant life or
health
avoiding
unnecessary
barriers to trade
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SPS Measures
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Human or
from
animal health
Human life
Animal or
plant life
Territory of
Member
risks arising from additives,
contaminants, toxins or disease
organisms in food, drink, feedstuff
from
plant- or animal-carried diseases
from
pests, diseases, disease-causing
organisms
from
other damage caused by entry,
establishment or spread of pests
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Human or
from
animal health
limits on
residues
in fish &
shellfish
risks arising from additives,
contaminants, toxins or disease
organisms in food, drink, feedstuff
limits on
aflatoxin
residues
in nuts
HACCP to
limit risks
from
salmonella
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Human life
from
plant- or animal-carried diseases
BSE-related restrictions
requirement that
susceptible animals
be vaccinated
against rabies
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Animal or
plant life
measure to
prevent
introduction
of FMD
pests, diseases, disease-causing
from
organisms
measure to
prevent
introduction
of fruit flies
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Territory of
Member
from
measure to
prevent
introduction
of zebra mussels
through ballast
water of ships
other damage caused by entry,
establishment or spread of pests
seed
regulation
to avoid
introduction
of exotic
weeds
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SPS measures include all relevant laws,
decrees, regulations, requirements and
procedures, including inter alia:
product criteria
quarantine treatments
production and processing requirements
certification and approval procedures
inspection
testing
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Key provisions of the SPS
Agreement
1. Non-discrimination
2. Scientific justification
• harmonization
• risk assessment
• consistency
• least trade-restrictiveness
3. Equivalence
4. Regionalization
5. Control, inspection and approval procedures
6. Transparency
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Scientific Justification
Article 2.2
Members
shall
ensure
that any
SPS
measure
is:
based on scientific principles
applied only to the extent
necessary to protect human,
animal or plant life or health
not maintained without
sufficient scientific evidence
except as provided for in Article 5.7
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Scientific Justification
Articles 3 & 5
Measures must be based on
Risk assessment
OR
International standards
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Harmonization
Article 3, Annex A
Standard-setting
organizations
food safety
CODEX
animal health
OIE
plant health
IPPC
Codex = Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission
OIE = World Organization for Animal Health
IPPC = International Plant Protection Convention (FAO)
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Risk assessment
Members shall ensure that their SPS measures are
based on:
– an assessment, as appropriate, of the risks to
human, animal or plant life or health,
– taking into account risk assessment techniques
developed by the relevant international
organizations
Definitions in Annex A:
• Food/beverage/feed borne risk
• Disease or pest risk
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Risk assessment - exception
Provisional measures, Article 5.7
Members may provisionally adopt SPS measures
when relevant scientific information is insufficient
on the basis of available information
In such circumstances, Members shall
seeks to obtain additional information to assess risk
review the measure within a reasonable period of
time
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Consistency
Article 5.5
Members shall
avoid arbitrary distinctions
in appropriate level of SPS
protection (ALOP) considered in
different situations
if distinctions result in discrimination or
disguised restrictions on trade
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Least trade-restrictive –
Article 5.6
•
SPS measures not to be more trade
restrictive than required to achieve
the appropriate level of protection
•
Alternative measure...
–
–
–
reasonably available
technically and economically feasible
significantly less trade restrictive
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Equivalence
Article 4
If the exporting Member objectively
demonstrates that its measures achieve the
ALOP of the importing country
Members shall
accept SPS measures of
other Members as
equivalent
SPS Committee
Guidelines
(G/SPS/19/Rev.2)
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Regionalization
Article 6
• Adapt SPS measures to characteristics of area (all or part
of a country, all or parts of several countries) taking into
account
• prevalence of diseases or pests
• existence of eradication or control programmes
• criteria/guidelines developed by OIE, IPPC
• Recognize concept of pest- or disease-free areas
• Exporters=>proof
SPS Committee guidelines (G/SPS/48)
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Control, Inspection and Approval
Procedures - Article 8 and Annex C
• No undue delays
• Information requirements: limited to what
is necessary
• No less favourable treatment for imports:
– Fees – no discrimination, only to cover
costs
• Procedure to review complaints
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Transparency
Article 7 & Annex B
Members shall
establish an Enquiry Point
AND
designate a Notification Authority
notify other Members of new or changed
SPS regulations when
no international standard exists
OR
the new regulation is different
than the international standard
AND
regulation may
have significant
effect on trade
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When to notify?
Regular measures
When modifications are
still possible
(draft text)
Allow 60 day comment period!!
Provisional measures
IMMEDIATELY!!
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The SPS Committee
3 regular meetings per year – Geneva
• Implementation of SPS
Agreement
• Reviews compliance
• Potential trade impacts
• Co-operation with
technical organizations
Codex, OIE and IPPC
have observer status
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Conclusions:
• Veterinary legislation should facilitate
implementation of provisions of the SPS
Agreement and application of relevant
guidelines developed by the Committee
• New or changed legislation should be notified
to the WTO Secretariat in a draft stage
• Countries are encouraged to participate
actively in the work of the ISSBs and SPS
Committee
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Where to find SPS information?
• SPS gateway: http://www.wto.org/sps
• SPS Information Management System (SPS-IMS):
http://spsims.wto.org/
• http://www.wto.org/
“Docs-on-line”
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