WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/75
5 June 1998
(98-2296)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
IMPROVING THE OPERATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT’S
NOTIFICATION PROVISIONS
Submission by the United States
The following communication was received from the United States on 29 May 1998.
_______________
1. Article 7 and Annex B of the SPS Agreement require Members to notify a proposed sanitary
and phytosanitary regulation, if it is not substantially the same as the content of an international
standard, guideline or recommendation or if an international standard, guideline or recommendationdoes not exist, and if the regulation may have a significant impact on trade of other Members.
Members agreed to designate a single central government authority on the national level as
responsible for meeting this obligation, in accordance with paragraphs 5, 6, 7 and 8 of Annex B.
Members also committed to ensure that one Enquiry Point exists which is responsible for the
provision of answers to all reasonable questions from interested Members.
Factors limiting the effective implementation of Article 7 and Annex B
2. Several Members have noted areas where the transparency provisions of the Agreement have
not yet been fully implemented and where notification procedures are not operating as expected.
Variations in the quality and content of the information submitted by Members in their notifications,
short comment periods, and delays in responding to requests for documentation are recurrent
problems limiting the effective implementation of the transparency provisions.  The United States
urges all Members to review the operation of their notification points in the light of the Committee’srecommended notification procedures (G/SPS/7) and make every effort to ensure that those
procedures are being implemented as efficiently as possible.
Suggested actions
3. In G/SPS/GEN/64, the European Community suggested certain revisions to the Committee’s
recommended notification procedures.  The United States supports the proposal to review the currentrecommendations, with a view to identifying any improvements which might facilitate the effective
operation of the notification process.  The United States also believes it would be useful to consider
other steps that might be taken in this area.  Such steps might include efforts to:
(a) Facilitate the building of capacity needed for the efficient operation of Members
Enquiry Points and National Notification Authorities;
(b) Expand the electronic transmission of notifications and texts of proposed measures
between Members;  and
(c) Facilitate access of all Members to informal translations of the texts of notified
measures, where the original text is not in a WTO language.G/SPS/GEN/75
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Capacity building
4. All Members have an interest in the smooth and efficient operation of the Agreement’s
notification procedures.  Members benefit from being aware of all relevant scientific and technical
information relating to proposed measures and the health risks they address and, as a consequence this
may improve their ability to avoid potential trade problems.  In addition, the communications
established between Members' Notification Authorities and Enquiry Points may allow Members tomore efficiently identify and adapt to proposed sanitary and phytosanitary measures in their principal
export markets.
5. The United States believes that Members, particularly developing countries, will benefit from
technical cooperation which specifically addresses steps that may be taken to improve the efficiency
of the Agreement’s notification procedures, and has suggested regional workshops to facilitate such
cooperation (G/SPS/GEN/37).  It is our understandi ng that WTO-sponsored workshops to date have
generally focused on the basic substantive provisions of the SPS Agreement, rather than on theoperational and administrative aspects associated with carrying out notification and enquiry point
functions.  The upcoming WTO-sponsored workshop to be held in the Philippines 29 June 1998-
2 July 1998 will incorporate this element and may provide a basis for determining Member needs and
identifying areas for future cooperation.
Electronic transmission of documents reduces administrative burdens, improves timeliness and
facilitates science-based rule-making
6. WTO Members are interested in having a notification system that allows Members to meet
their transparency obligations and facilitates the development of plant, animal and human health
regulations that reflect the best scientific information available.  The rapid development of modern
telecommunications and information technologies provides tremendous new opportunities to advancethese goals.  Ideally, Members' Enquiry Points will have access to computers, publication software,
Internet access, an established Web site and the capacity to transmit notifications and text
electronically.
7. As a first step, it would be useful to survey  Enquiry Points to determine how they function
and what steps need to be taken to facilitate electronic transmission of documents between Members.A survey, similar to that shown in Attachment A, could facilitate efforts to better target technical
assistance and training.  Even without the survey results, the simple addition of e-mail addresses for
all Enquiry Points would greatly facilitate electronic transmission of documents.  It is encouraging to
note that already 23 Members' Enquiry Points include e-mail addresses.
8. The United States notified 35 SPS measures in 1997 and responded to over 240 specific
requests by other Members for copies of the relevant texts.  The US Enquiry Point normally responds
to requests for full text by either fax or express pos tal service.  Increasingly the US Enquiry Point has
been able to respond to requests for full text by sending electronic copies, both in Adobe PDF and in
"ascii" text.  Most governments prefer to receive text via e-mail, where the capacity exists, because it
facilitates the timely distribution of notified texts to interested governmental and non-governmental
parties.
Posting translations of notified texts and other relevant documents on the Internet (Translation Bank)
9. As discussed during the Committee’s 12-13 March 1998 meeting, when lengthy documents
identified in the notification process are originally in a non-WTO language, delays in translation often
make it extremely difficult to respond within the time period specified in the notification. A partial
solution to this problem might be to share Members' "unofficial translations" of notified measures onan Internet Web-site.  Participating Members could notify the Secretariat of their translations and their
Web-site location, and the WTO might make these unofficial translations available to all Members.
In order to facilitate all Members' understanding of the likely health and trade effects of notified
measures, Members may also wish to post their comments on such measures on the Internet.G/SPS/GEN/75
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ATTACHMENT A
Enquiry Point Questionnaire
Country:
Enquiry Point:
Name:
Government Agency:
Address:
Telephone:
Fax:E-mail Address:
(Name of individual answering the questionnaire):
I. Does your government publish domestically all proposed sanitary and phytosanitary
regulations?
Yes ________ No _______1. If yes, where are they published (e.g., Newspaper, Federal Register, Official Journal,
etc.)?
2. Are they accessible via the Internet?
Yes   _______    No   _________
II. How many WTO SPS notifications has your government made to the World Trade
Organization?
1995 ______ 1996 ______ 1997 ______
1. How many requests have been received from another WTO Member for copies of the
full text of a specific SPS notification?
1995 1996 1997
Total number of requests ____ ____ ____
Number of countries ____ ____ ____
2. When a translation of a relevant document, or a translated summary of that document,
exists or is planned, do you indicate this fact on the notification form?
3. What was the average length of time between receipt of an official request from
another WTO Member for a full text of a proposed regulation and the actual response
to the request? (days, weeks or months)G/SPS/GEN/75
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4. Do you have access to electronic facilities for the transmission/reception of
documents?
Yes _______ No _______
(a) If not, do you have plans to establish such facilities and when?
(b) Would you require technical assistance in this respect?
III. Do you distribute copies of notifications of other WTO Members to interested parties in your
country upon request?
Yes_______ No _________
1. If yes to whom:
Government agencies _____ Private sector ______
2. How do you distribute copies of these notifications?  (Check those which apply)
Mail     _____ Fax ______
E-mail     _____ Web-site ______
IV. Do you also provide copies of the full text of proposed foreign government regulations to
domestic interest groups upon request?
Yes _______ N _______
V. How many official comments has your  government made on specific WTO SPS
notifications?
1995 ______ 1996 ______ 1997 ______
1. How were these comments transmitted to the WTO Member proposing the
regulation? (Check those which apply)
(a) Directly to the Member’s Enquiry Point ________
(b) Via the WTO Member's Embassy   _________(c) Via your Embassy in the WTO Member country  _________
(d) During a meeting of the WTO SPS Committee _________
VI. General comments/suggestions:
__________