WTO Agreement
on the Application
of SPS Measures
2020
Problems
Is our food safe? Are our farmers’ livestock and
crops? Or our forests? Or even the crates and
packaging used to ship goods across the world?
How do you ensure that your country’s
consumers are being supplied with food that is
safe to eat — “safe” by the standards you
consider appropriate?
And at the same time, how can you ensure that
strict health and safety regulations are not being
used as an excuse for protecting domestic
producers?
2017–2018 South
Africa listeriosis
outbreak
• It was a widespread outbreak
of Listeria monocytogenes food
poisoning that resulted from
contaminated processed
meats produced by Enterprise
Foods, a subsidiary of Tiger Brands,
in Polokwane. There were 1,060
confirmed cases of listeriosis during
the outbreak, and about 216 deaths.
It is the world's worst ever listeriosis
outbreak
Uruguay Round: Negotiations on
Agriculture
• Objectives to eliminate quantitative import
restrictions
• Eliminate other non-tariff barriers
• Reduce tariffs
• Reduce domestic production subsidies
• Reduce export subsidies
• Establish sanitary and phytosanitary rules
Why the SPS Agreement?
1947 1995
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Non-tariff measures
Trade-related
intellectual
Property rights Technical barriers
to trade
Subsidies
Quantitative restrictions
Government purchase Sanitary and phytosanitary
Trade in services measures
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What is the primary objective of the SPS
Agreement?
The right to Avoiding
protect unnecessary
human, animal or barriers to trade
plant life or
health
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SPS Agreement - Basic Right
Article 2.1
“Members have the right to take
sanitary and phytosanitary measures
necessary for the protection of human,
animal or plant life or health, provided
that such measures are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Agreement”
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SPS Agreement - Basic Right
Article 2.1
“Members have the right to take
sanitary and phytosanitary measures
necessary for the protection of human,
animal or plant life or health, provided
that such measures are not inconsistent
with the provisions of this Agreement”
Definition?
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SPS Measures
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Human or risks arising from additives,
from
animal health contaminants, toxins or disease
organisms in food, drink, feedstuff
Human life from plant- or animal-carried diseases
Animal or pests, diseases, disease-causing
from
plant life organisms
A country from other damage caused by entry,
establishment or spread of pests
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• Sanitary = health in general
(sometimes animal health)
• Phytosanitary = plant health
• Sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) = food
safety and animal and plant health
SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Human or risks arising from additives,
from
animal health contaminants, toxins or disease
organisms in food, drink, feedstuff
limits on limits on HACCP to
residues aflatoxin limit risks
in fish & residues from
shellfish in nuts salmonella
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Human life from plant- or animal-carried diseases
avian influenza
requirement that measures
susceptible animals
be vaccinated
against rabies
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
Animal or pests, diseases, disease-causing
from
plant life organisms
measure to measure to
prevent prevent
introduction introduction
of FMD of fruit flies
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SPS Measures - Examples
Definition - Annex A
A measure taken to protect:
A country from other damage caused by entry,
establishment or spread of pests
measure to seed
prevent regulation
introduction to avoid
of zebra mussels introduction
through ballast of exotic
water of ships weeds
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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. Transparency
6. Technical assistance/special treatment
7. Control, inspection and approval procedures
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• Members shall ensure that their sanitary and
phytosanitary measures do not arbitrarily or
unjustifiably discriminate between Members
Non- where identical or similar conditions prevail,
discrimination including between their own territory and
that of other Members. Sanitary and
Article 2.3 phytosanitary measures shall not be applied
in a manner which would constitute a
disguised restriction on international trade.
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Non-discrimination
Article 2.3
Country A
Country B
Country C
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2. Scientific justification
Article 2.2
based on scientific principles
Members
shall applied only to the extent
ensure necessary to protect human,
animal or plant life or health
that any
(least trade restrictive)
SPS
measure not maintained without
is: sufficient scientific evidence
except as provided for in Article 5.7
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Scientific justification
Articles 3 & 5 (harmonisation and risk assessment)
Measures must be based on
International standards OR RiskRiskassessment
assessment
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Scientific justification
Harmonization - Article 3
Standard-setting organizations
food safety animal health plant health
CODEX OIE IPPC
Codex = Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission
OIE = World Organization for Animal Health
IPPC = International Plant Protection Convention (FAO)
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Scientific justification - 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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Scientific justification
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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3. Equivalence
Article 4
If the exporting country objectively
demonstrates that its measures achieve the
ALOP of the importing country
Members shall
accept SPS measures of
other Members as equivalent
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4. Regionalization - Article 6
Pest- or disease-free areas
Members shall ensure that their SPS measures
are adapted to the SPS characteristics of an
“area”
all of a country part of a country all or parts of
several countries
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5. Transparency
Article 7 & Annex B
establish an Enquiry Point
Members shall AND
designate a Notification Authority
notify other Members of new or changed
SPS regulations when
no international standard exists regulation may
OR AND have significant
the new regulation is different effect on trade
than the international standard
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6. Special & Differential Treatment
and Technical Assistance – Articles 9 & 10
Members...
• ...shall take account of the special needs of
developing countries
• ...should accord longer time frames for
compliance
• ...agree to facilitate provision of Technical
Assistance
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7. 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
• Siting of facilities
• If positive list approach used for food additives, use
international standard until a determination is made
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United States – Measures Affecting the Importation
of Animals, Meat and Other Animal Products from
Argentina, 2015
Argentina challenged two sets of measures:
(a) the United States' prohibition on importation of fresh (chilled or frozen)
beef from the portion of the Argentine territory located north of the Rio
Negro (Northern Argentina) and on the importation of animals, meat and
other animal products from the Patagonia region as a consequence of
the failure to recognize Patagonia as an FMD-free region
(b) the undue delay in the application of the procedures set forth in Title 9
of the United States' Code of Federal Regulations, to Argentina's
requests for importation of fresh (chilled or frozen) beef from Northern
Argentina and for the recognition of the Patagonia region as free from
FMD.
The SPS Committee
What does it do?
•Forum for exchange of information among Member
governments
• Implementation of SPS Agreement (develop
guidance)
• Reviews compliance
• Co-operation with technical organizations
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SPS Committee
Decisions reached by consensus
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SPS Information Management
System http://spsims/
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SPS-related Information Sources
• WTO SPS Gateway: http://www.wto.org/sps
• WTO SPS Information Management System (SPS IMS):
http://spsims.wto.org
• WTO Disputes by Agreement
• http://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/dispu_e/dispu_a
greements_index_e.htm?id=A19
• Standards and Trade Development Facility
• http://www.standardsfacility.org/en/index.htm
Thank you!
