. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/129
19 July 1999
(99-2982)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
RESTRICTIONS ON THE EXPORTATION OF
FRESH BOVINE MEAT TO MEXICO
Statement by Argentina at the meeting of 7-8 July 1999
I. BACKGROUND
1. On several occasions, Argentina's Government has requested Mexico to review its national
legislation in order to allow the entrance of fresh bovine meat.  Regardless of the ongoing flow of
information related to Argentina's sanitary status to export the mentioned product, the Mexican
authorities have so far denied access to their national market, without specifying sanitaryrequirements nor visiting our country to verify our current sanitary status, stating that meat must come
from countries that have not practiced vaccination for the last 12 months.  At this time, our country
complies with sanitary conditions that allow the exportation of bovine meat to countries free of Foot-
and-Mouth Disease (FMD) without vaccination.
2. For decades, Argentina has been interested in accessing the Mexican market.  Thus, in 1991,
the Interinstitutional Animal Health Agreement between Mexico's Ministry of Agriculture and
Argentina's Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food was subscribed.  Said agreement
establishes the legal framework for cooperation mechanisms in this matter.
3. On 30 April 1999, Argentina formally notified the OIE of the cessation of vaccination against
FMD throughout the country.  On 20 May 1999, the Argentine representative officially presented this
notification before the 67
th OIE General Session, and set forth the report on "Operational Systems of
Strategic Implementation", stating the sanitary actions to reduce the risk of re-entrance of the virusinto the country.  A copy of the document was handed to the Mexican representative.  On
29 January 1999, the declaration of Argentina describing the accomplishments of the eradication of
FMD and announcing the cessation of vaccination was published as document G/SPS/GEN/109 in the
WTO.
4. Argentina has reached the status of free of FMD with vaccination, has registered no cases
since April 1994, and has ceased vaccination against said disease on 30 April 1999.  Argentine fresh
bovine meat has access to more than 70 internationa l markets, including countries with high sanitary
requirements such as the United States, Canada, Chile, etc. which are free of FMD without
vaccination.
II. SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
5. In accordance with paragraph 8 of Article 5 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary
and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Agreement"), Argentina wishes to inform the Committee and
ask Mexico the following questions:
(a) What is the Mexican legislation establishing the specific requirements for the
importation of fresh bovine meat from Argentina?G/SPS/GEN/129
Page 2
(b) Could Mexico state the scientific grounds for banning the importation of fresh bovine
meat from our country?
(c) It appears that Mexico has decided not to base its import requirements on OIE
recommendations.  Could Mexico indicate the scientific grounds upon which this
apparent ban is based?
(d) Could Mexico set forth a list of the countries that export bovine meat to the country,
the sanitary conditions under which they take place and why said conditions do not
apply to Argentina?
(e) Could Mexico set forth complete information regarding risk analysis carried out
according to Article 5, and state the grounds for the measures taken in accordance
with the risk analysis?
III. CONCLUSIONS
6. In accordance with the above-mentioned observations, Argentina understands that regulations
for the importation of animals, products and sub-products of animal origin that ban the entrance of
meat from Argentina, result in a discriminatory attitude and are inconsistent with the SPS Agreement.
7. Argentina has made considerable efforts and large investments on an FMD eradication
programme that aims to give meat-importing countries maximum reasonable guarantees regardingcommercial risks associated with this disease.
8. At this moment, Argentina's sanitary condition exceeds the guarantees established in
Article 2.1.1.2 of the International Zoosanitary Code, due to scientific probability estimations of the
presence of carrier animals, as well as the current epidemiological and prevention surveillance
strategies of the country.
9. The prohibition to import boneless fresh and matured bovine meat from countries free of
FMD with vaccination is not be in accordance with Articles 2.2, 2.3, 4.2, 5, 7 and 12.4 of the SPS
Agreement.  Argentina informs the Committee of the request made to Mexico to obtain this
information, according to the provisions stated in paragraph 8 of Article 5 of the SPS Agreement.
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