WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/L/274
16 November 1998
(98-4545)
REPORT (1998) ON TH E ACTIVITIES OF THE
COMMITTEE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
The present report is being circulated by the Chairman of the Committee on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures on his own responsibility.  This report provides a summary of the activities
and decisions of the Committee during 1998.
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1. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Committee") held four
meetings in 1998:  on 12-13 March, 10-11 June, 15-16 September and 11-12 November.1   A t  t h e
March meeting, Mr. Alejandro Thiermann (United States) was re-appointed Chairman for 1998/99.
2. The Committee initiated informal consultations in order to deal with requests for observer
status from a number of organizations.  At the Se ptember meeting, the Committee decided that, given
the decision of the General Council regarding non-governmental organizations, observer status would
not be granted to the International Meat Secretariat and the International Seed Federation.  Informal
consultations regarding the requests for observer status from several intergovernmental organizations
continued during 1998 but no agreement was reached. 2
3. The SPS Committee considered a number of specific trade concerns, including several related
to individual notifications. The issues discussed included, inter alia , measures related to BSE;
measures related to maximum levels of aflatoxins in food; measures relating to establishments
operating in the animal feed sector;  measures relating to food and food ingredients treated with
ionizing radiation; measures affecting apples, pe ars, quinces, ware potatoes, meat and livestock
products (including other bovine products), pork a nd pork products, poultry products, dairy products,
milled rice, coconut palms and related products and fish products.
4. Members provided the Committee with information in respect of: the recognition of disease-
free areas, equivalence and the use of international standards.  The operation of the transparency
provisions was also discussed.  The Secretariat circulated updated lists of National Enquiry Points and
National Notification Authorities.3
5. In accordance with Article 12.2 of the Agreement, several bilateral or plurilateral
consultations were held, including between Bolivia and the European Communities with regard to
                                                     
1 The reports of these meetings are cont ained in G/SPS/R/10, /11, /12 and /13.
2 The Committee is currently considering applications from:  the Office international de la vigne et du
vin (OIV), the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) , the Latin American Economic System (SELA), the
European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization (EPPO), the Inter-American Institute forCooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Regional International Agricultural Health Organization (OIRSA) and
the OECD.
3 G/SPS/ENQ/7,  G/SPS/GEN/91, and  G/SPS/GEN/27/Rev.3.G/L/274
Page 2
aflatoxins in chestnuts;  and between the United States and Poland concerning weed seeds in grains
and oilseeds. In a number of cases, the Chairman was requested to facilitate consultations.
6.  On the basis of the provisional procedure to monitor the use of international standards,
adopted in October 19974, the Committee considered examples of what Members considered to be
problems with significant trade impact which they believed related to the use or non-use of relevantinternational standards, guidelines or recommendations.
7. The SPS Committee held further informal consultations in connection with each of the
Committee's formal meetings on the structure and substance of the guidelines to further the practical
implementation of Article 5.5.  Considerable progress on the draft guidelines was made.
8. In October 1997, the SPS Committee agreed on a procedure for conducting the review of the
implementation and operation of the SPS Agreement, in accordance with Article 12.7.
 5  Accordingly,
the Committee discussed issues concerning:  transparency;  technical assistance and  cooperation;  theneeds of developing countries and special and differential treatment;  equivalence;    regionalization;
harmonization;  risk assessment;  and resolution of trade disputes.  At the November meeting, the
Committee discussed a draft report of the review exercise.
9. At each meeting of the SPS Committee, Members, the Secretariat and the observer inter-
governmental organizations reported on their technical activities.  Members were provided theopportunity to identify specific needs for technica l assistance.  The European Communities provided
the Secretariat with a list of experts from EC member States on SPS-related subjects which could be
of assistance to developing countries and seminars organized by the Secretariat.
6  The United States
presented a paper on technical assistance and cooperation outlining various US programmes on
technical assistance addressing SPS issues.7
10. In response to a request from the Council for Trade in Goods, the Committee considered the
manner in which the Agreement, its implementation and the work of the Committee facilitated trade.
This information was forwarded to the Council for Trade in Goods.
11. The SPS Committee formally responded to a request from Codex to clarify the status of
Codex guidelines and codes of practice and the appl icability of regional Codex standards in relation to
the SPS Agreement.8  The IPPC reported on the adoption of the new revised text of the IPPC by the
FAO Conference in November 1998.9  In this regard, the SPS Committee urged Members to ratify the
text as quickly as possible and encouraged those Members which were not signatories to the IPPC to
consider their adherence given the importance of the IPPC for the implementation of the SPS
Agreement.  The WHO reported on the revision of the International Health Regulations (IHR) and
informal consultation were held with the Secretariat of the WHO in order to clarify the relationship
between the SPS Agreement and the IHR.10  The OIE informed the Committee that there was a new
draft chapter on BSE in the OIE Code, which defined more precisely the different health status
categories.  This draft will be proposed for adoption in May 1999.
12. The SPS Committee held informal discussions with the Secretariat of the Convention on
Biological Diversity with regard to the ongoi ng negotiation of a UN Protocol on Biosafety.
                                                     
4 G/SPS/11.
5 G/SPS/10.
6 G/SPS/GEN/69 and Add.1.
7 G/SPS/GEN/78.
8 G/SPS/W/86/Rev.1.
9 G/SPS/GEN/51, Annex 1.
10 G/SPS/GEN/59.G/L/274
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13. The following tentative schedule of meetings in 1999 was agreed by the SPS Committee:  10-
11 March, 7-8 July and 10-11 November.  Several Members emphasized the usefulness of
establishing regular dates for future meetings of the Committee.
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