. /.WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/N/MEX/188
2 July 2002
(02-3708)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  Spanish
NOTIFICATION OF EMERGENCY MEASURES
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  MEXICO
If applicable, name of local government involved:           
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries
and Food
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers may be provided in addition, where
applicable).  Blue variety of the Weber tequilana  agave, products or by-products thereof
and causal agents of phytosanitary problems.
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected, to the extent relevant or practicable:  All
countries which trade with Mexico in the blue variety of the Weber tequilana  agave and the
products and by-products thereof.
5. Title and number of pages of the notified document: Emergency Mexican Official
Standard NOM-EM-037-FITO-2002, Phytosanitary Specifications for the Production and
Transportation of the Blue Variety of the Weber Tequilana  Agave (10 pages).
6. Description of content:  The aim of this Mexican Official Standard is to establish
phytosanitary measures for the propagation, production and transportation of the bluevariety of the Weber tequilana  agave, in order to preserve and improve the phytosanitary
status of this product in the area corresponding to the Designation of Origin of Tequila
(DOT).
This Standard is mandatory throughout the national territory for natural and legal
persons involved in producing agave propagative material in mother orchards, laboratories,
nurseries and greenhouses, as well as those involved in the production, marketing and
industrialization of agave.
7. Objective and rationale:  [     ] food safety,  [     ] animal health,  [  X ] plant protection,
[    ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease,
[    ] protect territory from other damage from pests           
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reasons for urgent action:  It is the responsibility
of the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Rural Development, Fisheries and Food to
prevent the spread of plant diseases and to perform phytosanitary control on the
transportation of plants, plant products or by-products and causal agents of phytosanitary
problems.
The Ministry is also responsible for monitoring phytosanitary aspects relating to the
production, industrialization, marketing and transportation of plants and plant products andG/SPS/N/MEX/188
Page 2
8. Nature of the urgent problem(s) and reasons for urgent action (cont'd):
by-products.
There have been outbreaks of a pest complex in some municipalities in the State of
Jalisco, affecting agave plantations, diagnosed by the National Phytosanitary Reference
Centre of the General Directorate of Plant Health as Erwina carotovora  and Fusarium
oxysporum.
The aforementioned pests are transmitted by the agave propagative plant material
and can go undetected during transportation and the establishment of new agave plantations
in the DOT territory.  Consequently, the pr oper application of phytosanitary measures
during the production and marketing process is required.
The phytosanitary quality and health of agave propagative material plays a decisive
role in the health of crops during the various phenological stages.  Consequently, a
registration and certification programme for agave is required to guarantee the health and
origin of the product, with the primary aim of improving and encouraging the productionand use of agave propagative material that is free of phytosanitary problems.
Only through a joint effort and the involvement of producers, laboratories, nursery
owners, carriers, traders, the federal, State and municipal authorities and the general
population, will it be possible to perform an effective phytosanitary control of the pests
affecting agave and prevent their spread.  This Ministry has decided to issue, as a matter ofurgency, Mexican Official Standard NOM-EM-037-FITO-2002, Phytosanitary
Specifications for the Production and Transportation of the Blue Variety of the Weber
Tequila  Agave.
9. International standard, guideline or recommendation:
[    ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [    ] Office International des Epizooties,[    ] International Plant Protection Convention, [ X ] None
If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate
reference and briefly identify deviations:           
10. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Diario Oficial de la
Federación  (Official Journal) of 19 June 2002 (available in Spanish)
11. Date of entry into force/period of application (as applicable):  This Standard will enter
into force the day following its publication in the Diario Oficial de la Federación.
12. 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:           
13. Texts available from: .[  X ] National notification authority, [     ] National enquiry point
or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:
Web site:  www.economia-normas.gob.mx (Catálogo de normas)
Dirección General de Normas (52+55) 57 29 93 00 Ext. 4156 Fax: 57 29 94 84