RESTRICTEDWORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONWT/GC/51
3 October 2001
(01-4758)
General Council Original:  English
IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 4 OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE APPLICATION OF
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
Report of the Chairman of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
to the Chairman of the General Council
The following communication, dated 2 October 2001, has been received by the Chairman of
the General Council from the Chairman of the Committee Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.
_______________
You will recall that in October 2000, the General Council had requested the SPS Committee
"to examine the concerns of developing countries regarding the equivalence of SPS measures and to
come up with concrete options as to how to deal with them".  This reques t reinforced the previous
decision of the SPS Committee to examine this issue in light of developing country concerns.
The SPS Committee examined the issue of equivalence at formal and informal meetings in
November 2000, March 2001 and July 2001, taking into account information provided by Members
regarding their own experiences with recogniti on of equivalence and by the Codex Alimentarius
Commission.  Following each meeting of the Committee, I submitted a report to the General Council
(G/L/423, G/L/445 and G/L/455).
In light of the request by the Chairman of the General Council, on 25 July 2001, that the SPS
Committee provide concrete recommendations to the General Council by 30 September 2001, aspecial meeting of the SPS Committee was held on 18-19 September 2001.  At this meeting, the
Committee held a substantive, constructive discussion on a draft decision regarding equivalence.  On
19 September, the Committee reached agreement, ad referendum, on the attached draft decision.
1  I
regret to inform you that four Members advised the Secretariat, prior to the 25 September deadline
agreed by the Committee, that they objected to the adoption of this decision.  The objection concernedinclusion of one sentence in the first paragraph of the decision, namely "An evaluation of the product-
related infrastructure and programmes within which the measure is being applied may also be
necessary."
On 26 September, I consulted informally with a number of Members, including the four who
raised objections.  Several other Members indicated that they had been prepared to accept certain
provisions in order to reach a decision, however if the text were to be reopened for further discussion,
they also would seek additional changes.  Three of the four Members which had presented objections
stated informally that they would not block the adoption of the decision as agreed ad referendum.
Unfortunately, one Member confirmed to me on 27 September that they were not able to join in theconsensus on the decision.  Subsequent consultations have given me reason to believe that it may be
possible to reach a consensus on this issue within the coming days.  I will inform you immediately of
any conclusion.
I request that you bring this information to the attention of the General Council.
                                                     
1 Reproduced as Annex I.WT/GC/51
Page 2
ANNEX I
Draft Decision on the Implementation of Article 4 of the Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures,
Having regard to paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and
Phytosanitary Measures;
In response to the request from the General Council that the Committee examine the concerns of
developing country Members regarding the equivalence of sanitary or phytosanitary measures and
develop concrete options as to how to deal with them;
Reaffirming  the right of Members to establish sanitary and phytosanitary measures necessary to
ensure the protection of human, animal and plant life or health and the protection of their territory
from other damage caused by the entry, establishment or spread of pests, in accordance with the
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;
Desiring  to make operational the provisions of Article 4 of the Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures;
Noting  that equivalence of sanitary or phytosanitary measures does not require duplication or
sameness of measures, but the acceptance of alternative measures that meet an importing Member's
appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection;
Recognizing  that equivalence can be applied between all Members, irrespective of their level of
development;
Noting  that Members have faced difficulties applying the provisions of Article 4 recognizing the
equivalence of sanitary and phytosanitary measures;
Taking into account  the specific concerns raised by developing country Members, and particularly the
least developed among them, regarding their difficulties in having the equivalence of their sanitary or
phytosanitary measures accepted by importing Members;
Recognizing  the importance of minimizing possible negative effects of sanitary or phytosanitary
measures on trade and of improving market access opportunities, particularly for products of interest
to developing country Members;
Recognizing  that transparency, exchange of information and confidence-building by both the
importing and exporting Member are essential to achieving an agreement on equivalence;
Recognizing  that there may be other less resource-intensive and time-consuming means for Members
to enhance trade opportunities;
Decides as follows:
1. Equivalence can be accepted for a specific measure or measures related to a certain product or
categories of products, or on a systems-wide basis.  Members shall, when so requested, seek to accept
the equivalence of a measure related to a certain product or category of products. An evaluation of the
product-related infrastructure and programmes within which the measure is being applied may also benecessary.  Members may further, where necessary and appropriate, seek more comprehensive andWT/GC/51
Page 3
broad-ranging agreements on equivalence.  The acceptance of the equivalence of a measure related to
a single product may not require the developm ent of a systems-wide equivalence agreement.
2. In the context of facilitating the implementation of Article 4, on request of the exporting Member,
the importing Member should explain the objective and rationale of the sanitary or phytosanitary
measure and identify clearly the risks that the relevant measure is intended to address.  The importingMember should indicate the appropriate level of protection which its sanitary or phytosanitary
measure is designed to achieve.
2  The explanation should be accompanied by a copy of the risk
assessment on which the sanitary or phytosanitary measure is based or a technical justification based
on a relevant international standard, guideline or recommendation.  The importing Member should
also provide any additional information which may assist the exporting Member to provide an
objective demonstration of the equivalence of its own measure.
3. An importing Member shall respond in a timely manner to any request from an exporting Member
for consideration of the equivalence of its meas ures, normally within a six-month period of time.
4. The exporting Member shall provide appropriate science-based and technical information to
support its objective demonstration that its measure achieves the appropriate level of protection
identified by the importing Member.  This information may include, inter alia , reference to relevant
international standards, or to relevant risk assessments undertaken by the importing Member or byanother Member.  In addition, the exporting Member shall provide reasonable access, upon request, to
the importing Member for inspection, testing and other relevant procedures for the recognition of
equivalence.
5. The importing Member should accelerate its procedure for determining equivalence in respect of
those products which it has historically imported from the exporting Member.
6. The consideration by an importing Member of a request by an exporting Member for recognition
of the equivalence of its measures with regard to a specific product shall not be in itself a reason to
disrupt or suspend on-going imports from that Member of the product in question.
7. When considering a request for recognition of equivalence, the importing Member should analyze
the science-based and technical information provided by the exporting Member on its sanitary orphytosanitary measures with a view to determining whether these measures achieve the level of
protection provided by its own relevant sanitary or phytosanitary measures.
8. In accordance with Article 9 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary
Measures, a Member shall give full consideration to requests by another Member, especially a
developing country Member, for appropriate technical assistance to facilitate the implementation of
Article 4.  This assistance may, inter alia , be to help an exporting Member identify and implement
measures which can be recognized as equivalent, or to otherwise enhance market access opportunities.Such assistance may also be with regard to the development and provision of the appropriate science-
based and technical information referred to in paragraph 4, above.
9. Members should actively participate in the ongoing work in the Codex Alimentarius Commission
on the issue of equivalence, and in any work related to equivalence undertaken by the Office
International des Epizooties and in the framework of the International Plant Protection Convention.
Bearing in mind the difficulties faced by developing country Members to participate in the work of
these bodies, Members should consider providing assistance to facilitate their participation.
                                                     
2 In doing so, Members should take into account the Guidelines to Further the Practical
Implementation of Article 5.5  adopted by the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures at its meeting
of 21-22 June 2000 (document G/SPS/15, dated 18 July 2000).WT/GC/51
Page 4
10. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures recognizes the urgency for the
development of guidance on the judgement of equivalence and shall formally encourage the Codex
Alimentarius Commission to complete its work with regard to equivalence as expeditiously as
possible.  The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures shall also formally encourage the
Office International des Epizooties and the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary Measures toelaborate guidelines, as appropriate, on equivalence of sanitary and phytosanitary measures and
equivalence agreements in the animal health and plant protection areas.  The Codex Alimentarius
Commission, the Office International des Epizooties and the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary
Measures shall be invited to keep the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures regularly
informed regarding their activities relating to equivalence.
11. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures shall revise its recommended notification
procedures to provide for the notification of the conclusion of agreements between Members whichrecognize the equivalence of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
3  Furthermore, the procedures shall
reinforce the existing obligation in paragraph 3(d) of Annex B of the Agreement on the Application of
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures for national Enquiry Points to provide information, upon
request, on the participation in any bilateral or multilateral equivalence agreements of the Member
concerned.
12. Members should regularly provide to the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
information on their experience regarding the impl ementation of Article 4 of the Agreement on the
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.  In particular, Members are encouraged to
inform the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures of the successful conclusion of any
bilateral equivalence agreement or arrangement.  The Committee on Sanitary and PhytosanitaryMeasures shall consider establishing a standing agenda item for its regular meetings for this purpose.
13. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures shall develop a specific programme to
further the implementation of Article 4, with particular consideration of the problems encountered by
developing country Members.  In this respect, the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
shall review this decision in light of the relevant work undertaken by the Codex AlimentariusCommission, the Office International des Epizooties and the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary
Measures, as well as the experience of Members.
14. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures requests that the General Council  take
note of this decision.
__________
                                                     
3 G/SPS/7/Rev.1