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| **[World Trade]{.smallcaps}**                    |                   |
|                                                  |                   |
| **[Organization]{.smallcaps}**                   |                   |
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|                                                  |                   |
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|                                                  | **                |
|                                                  | G/SPS/N/MEX/207** |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | 4 October 2004    |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
|                                                  | (04-4138)         |
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|                                                  |                   |
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| **Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary        | Original: Spanish |
| Measures**                                       |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

**NOTIFICATION**

+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Member to Agreement notifying:** [MEXICO]{.underline}         |
| 1. |                                                                 |
| ** | **If applicable, name of local government involved:**           |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Agency responsible:** Ministry of the Environment and Natural |
| 2. | Resources (SEMARNAT)                                            |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified  |
| 3. | in national schedules deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may   |
| ** | be provided in addition, where applicable):** Wood packaging    |
|    | material                                                        |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent     |
| 4. | relevant or practicable:** All natural and legal persons using  |
| ** | wood packaging material in the international marketing of goods |
|    | and services.                                                   |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Title, language and number of pages of the notified           |
| 5. | document:** Draft Mexican Official Standard                     |
| ** | PROY-NOM-144-SEMARNAT-2004, Establishing the Internationally    |
|    | Recognized Phytosanitary Measures for Wood Packaging Material   |
|    | Used in International Trade in Goods (14 pages (11-page draft   |
|    | and three-page Annex), in Spanish).                             |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Description of content:** The purpose of this draft Mexican   |
| 6. | Official Standard, which will be mandatory throughout Mexican   |
| ** | territory, is to establish phytosanitary measures for wood      |
|    | packaging material in use in international trade in goods, the  |
|    | technical specifications thereof, and the use of the globally   |
|    | recognized mark attesting to the application of such measures.  |
|    | It also lays down the requirements governing the use of this    |
|    | mark on wood packaging material used for the exportation of     |
|    | goods and establishes guidelines to facilitate the inspection   |
|    | at entry points into the country of wood packaging material     |
|    | used for the importation of goods with a view to reducing the   |
|    | risk of pest introduction.                                      |
|    |                                                                 |
|    | The final version of the Mexican Official Standard the draft of |
|    | which is notified hereby will, upon its entry into force,       |
|    | replace Emergency Mexican Official Standard                     |
|    | NOM‑EM-144-SEMARNAT-2003 \"Establishing the Technical           |
|    | Specifications for the Phytosanitary Measure (Treatment) and    |
|    | Use of the Mark Accrediting the Application Thereof in Relation |
|    | to Wood Packaging Material in International Trade\", published  |
|    | in the *Diario Oficial de la Federación* (Official Journal) of  |
|    | 26 November 2003 and circulated to Members of the WTO Committee |
|    | on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures as a notification in     |
|    | document G/SPS/N/MEX/204 of 10 December 2003 (and which remains |
|    | in force until 26 January 2005).                                |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **Objective and rationale: \[**   **\] food safety, \[   \]     |
| 7. | animal health, \[ X \] plant protection, \[   \] protect humans |
| ** | from animal/plant pest or disease, \[ X \] protect territory    |
|    | from other damage from pests**                                  |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | **International standard, guideline or recommendation:**        |
| 8. |                                                                 |
| ** | **\[ \] Codex Alimentarius Commission, \[ \] World Organization |
|    | for Animal Health (OIE), \[ X \] International Plant Protection |
|    | Convention, \[ \] None**                                        |
|    |                                                                 |
|    | **If an international standard, guideline or recommendation     |
|    | exists, give the appropriate reference and briefly identify     |
|    | deviations:**                                                   |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| ** | > **Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are       |
| 9. | > available:**                                                  |
| ** | >                                                               |
|    | > \(a\) *Diario Oficial de la Federación* (Official Journal) of |
|    | > 24 September 2004 (available in Spanish);                     |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > \(b\) Official Journal of 27 July 2004 (available in          |
|    | > Spanish);                                                     |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > \(c\) Official Journal of 26 November 2003 (available in      |
|    | > Spanish);                                                     |
|    | >                                                               |
|    | > \(d\) Notifications G/SPS/N/MEX/204 and                       |
|    | > G/SPS/N/MEX/204.Add1-URG of 10 December 2003 and 10 June      |
|    | > 2004, respectively.                                           |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Proposed date of adoption:** To be determined                 |
| *1 |                                                                 |
| 0. |                                                                 |
| ** |                                                                 |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Proposed date of entry into force:** The day following        |
| *1 | publication of the final version of this Mexican Official       |
| 1. | Standard in the Official Journal, with the exception of Article |
| ** | 5 thereof, which will enter into force on 1 July 2005.          |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Final date for comments:** 23 November 2004                   |
| *1 |                                                                 |
| 2. | **Agency or authority designated to handle comments:            |
| ** | \[** **X** **\] National notification authority, \[**   **\]    |
|    | National enquiry point or address, fax number and E‑mail        |
|    | address (if available) of other body:**                         |
+----+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
| *  | **Texts available from: \[** **X** **\] National notification   |
| *1 | authority, \[**   **\] National enquiry point or address, fax   |
| 3. | number and E‑mail address (if available) of other body:**       |
| ** |                                                                 |
|    | Web site:                                                       |
|    | [www.economia.gob.mx/?P=85](http://www.economia.gob.mx/?P=85)   |
|    | (Standards catalogue)                                           |
|    |                                                                 |
|    | E-mail: <cidgn@economia.gob.mx>                                 |
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