WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/518 
20 October 2004 
 
 (04-4444) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
ACTIONS AIMED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO AGREEMENT 
ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANIT ARY MEASURES (SPS AGREEMENT) 
 
Information Submitted by the Inter-American Institute
 
for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)  
 
  The following communication, received on 19 Octo ber 2004, is being circulated at the request 
of the Inter-American Institute fo r Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). 
 
_______________ 
 
 1. The observer organizations of the Committe e on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports on the activities they have carried out to contribute to the understanding and implementation of the SPS Agreement. 
I. INITIATIVE ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES (SPS) FOR THE 
COUNTRIES OF THE AMERICAS 
2. In conjunction with the United States Depart ment of Agriculture (USDA) and with the 
collaboration of six countries that serve as a st eering committee (Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, 
Mexico and the United States), the IICA continu es to implement the Initiative for the Americas on 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures within  the framework of the WTO SPS Committee. 
3. The Initiative, which began with the meeting of  October 2002, has contributed through seven 
consecutive meetings in two years, to supporting the participation of the countries of the Americas 
and promoting the development of their national capabilities. 
4. A total of 34 countries are involved in the initiative.  By the end of the sixth SPS Committee 
meeting held in June 2004, the initiative had helped 148 specialists  from 32 countries take part.  
Participants have come from the ministries of agricu lture, health, trade or foreign affairs, where they 
have been responsible for the WTO trade nego tiations and issues.  The initiative promotes the 
implementation of the SPS Agreement in a co ordinated way between the different national 
institutions, also encouraging coor dination with the private sector at  meetings held in the capitals 
before and after the SPS Committee meetings.  Tw enty-eight of the 34 countries of the Americas 
(82 per cent) now have an internal mechanism (fo rmal or informal) for discussing and following up 
the issues dealt with by the SPS Committee. 
 For more information, contact:  kevin.walker@iica.ac.cr
 (Kevin Walker), 
erick.bolanos@iica.ac.cr  (Eric Bolaños), gregg.young@usda.gov  (Gregg Young), 
marianne.mcelroy@fas.usda.gov  (Marianne McElroy), henry.schmick@usda.gov  (Henry Schmick). G/SPS/GEN/518 
Page 2  
 
 II. STRENGTHENING NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL HEALTH AND FOOD SAFETY 
SERVICES BY DEVELOPING A SHARED VISION AND JOINT ACTIONS FOR THE COUNTRIES OF CENTRAL AMERICA 
5. The Performance, Vision and Strategy (PVS) in strument, developed jointly by the OIE and 
the IICA, was recently applied to the national veteri nary services in six countries of Central America.  
The preliminary results were presented to the regi on’s ministers of agriculture on 14 October 2004.  
These results could make it possible to establish a cooperation agenda for the agencies and countries 
participating in this effort, based on the prior ities and needs identified by the public and private 
sectors.  The PVS instrument will be applied to ot her countries in the Americas in the near future. 
 For more information, contact:  marisa.cordero@iica.int
 (Marisa Cordero), 
kevin.walker@iica.int  (Kevin Walker). 
 
III. ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE INTERNATIONAL PLANT PROTECTION 
CONVENTION (IPPC) AND CODEX ALIMENTARIUS 
6. To support the work of the IPPC the IICA, w ith the financial backi ng of NAPPO, hosted an 
IPPC workshop to review draft international sta ndards for phytosanitary measures.  The workshop 
was held in Costa Rica in September, and was atte nded by 13 countries in the region each of which, in 
the course of the week-long session, provided th e International Standards Commission with 
contributions and comments.  The effort is part of the IPPC standards re view and approval process. 
 For more information, contact:  erick.bolanos@iica.int  (Eric Bolaños). 
 
7. To support training and dissemination in connection with  IPPC standard No. 15, the IICA 
helped organize and implement the Workshop on  Regulations Governing the Wood Packaging 
Materials Used in International Trade, held in Mexi co in September.  Similar events are planned for 
South America (17-19 November in Argentina) and the Caribbean. 
 For more information, contact:  ppentney@iicacan.org  (Pat Pentney for North America), 
mlfonalleras@iica.org.ar  (Lourdes Fonalleras for South America), cvgelderen@iica.org.ar  
(Carlos van Gelderen for South America).  8. The IICA office in Argentina and the Argentin e Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, 
Fisheries and Food (SAGPyA) recently signed two agreements, one involving technical cooperation 
with the Chair of the Codex Committee for Latin Am erica and the Caribbean (CCLAC), and the other 
concerning the SPS Enquiry Point. 
9. Under the agreement with the CCLAC, assistance  will be provided to identify regional needs 
and sources of cooperation to strengthen the capabiliti es and participation of national enquiry points, 
and achieve greater interaction and regional c oordination on Codex and related subjects (SPS and 
TBT).  This will be supplemented with technical  evaluations of documents, research on specific 
subjects, the preparation of technical justifica tions, the design of surveys on national and regional 
needs, and technical assistance in meetings of th e national commissions and technical committees on 
specific topics. 
10. Cooperation with the SPS Enquiry Point in Arge ntina will focus on the study of proposed 
standards notified by the countries to the WTO SPS Committee and draft IPPC/FAO International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs). 
 For more information, contact:  mlfonalleras@iica.org.ar
 (Lourdes Fonalleras), 
cvgelderen@iica.org.ar  (Carlos van Gelderen).  G/SPS/GEN/518 
 Page 3 
 
 
 IV. SUPPORT FOR WTO TRAINING WORKSHOPS 
11. To support the training workshops that the WTO implements in the regions of the Americas, 
the IICA will take part in, and help with, the regional workshop for Central America and selected 
other countries scheduled to be held in Nicaragua in November. 
 For more information, contact:  erick.bolanos@iica.int  (Eric Bolaños). 
 
V. OTHER ACTIVITIES 
12. Colombia’s Center for Phytosanitary Excelle nce (which receives support under the USAID-
USDA-IICA agreement) has now been in operation for three years and has achieved positive results.  
Through the IICA office, the Center has signed an  agreement with the Salvadoran Ministry of 
Agriculture and Livestock for the preparation of f our pest risk analyses (PRA), the training of 
professionals from the Ministry of Agriculture, and the submission of a proposal for the establishment of a similar center in El Salvador.  The Center is also negotiating the preparation of a PRA with Ecuador’s private sector, and staff training in PR A and geographic information systems with the 
Ecuadorian Agricultural Health Service. 
 For more information, contact:  pilar.agudelo@iica.int
 (Pilar Agudelo). 
 13. The IICA provided support to Brazil’s Ministry of Agriculture at a recent conference on food 
traceability held in September.  The objective of  the conference was to share experiences on food 
certification and traceability systems, to establish t echnical cooperation initiatives between institutions 
for which technology and marketing are strategic and priority areas, to improve identification and 
implementation for the harmonization of requirement s, and to identify areas of future strategic 
priority. 
 For more information, contact:  christian.fischer@iica.int
 (Christian Fischer). 
 14. To support training and upgrading programmes in connection with risk mitigation practices, 
the IICA has signed agreements and conducted traini ng activities related to good agricultural practices 
(GAP) and quality assurance.  In Colombia, the IICA has worked with the Ministry of Agriculture and 
various private producers’ organizations in the fruit, vegetable and animal products subsectors on 
GAPs.  In Guyana and Suriname, seminars on HACC P and GAPs have been held for the livestock, 
dairy, fruit and other subsectors. 
15. Regarding standards, the IICA has supported in itiatives in Guyana and Suriname aimed at 
reviewing and harmonizing standards in the areas of animal health, plant protection and food safety.  
It also supported the regional harmonization standa rds for the production and processing of different 
agri-food products. 
 For more information, contact:  pilar.agudelo@iica.int
 (Pilar Agudelo for Colombia), 
agrihealthguy@hotmail.com  (Maxine Parris-Aaron for Guyana and Suriname). 
 
16. Together with the University of the West Indies (UWI), CAB-International, Caribbean 
Agricultural Research and Developm ent Institute (CARDI), and the University of Florida, the IICA 
continues to promote the strategy aimed at  the cont rol of invasive species in the Caribbean Basin.  
The draft Caribbean Regional Invasive Species Stra tegy (CRISIS) was presented to the 17th Meeting 
of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED). 
17. The ninth meeting of the Coordinating Group of Pesticides Control Boards of the Caribbean 
(CGPC) was held in St. Kitts in July on the them e "Improving Management and Use of Pesticides for G/SPS/GEN/518 
Page 4  
 
 a Safer Caribbean Environment".  The IICA opera tes as technical secretariat for the CGPC.  The 
meeting adopted a proposal for the harmonization of  the registration process and the promotion of a 
strategy for improved use and management of agro-c hemicals in the Caribbean.  The strategy covers 
the need for harmonized legislation throughout the region, the incorporation of GAPs and other similar practices, public health, environmental monitoring, research, and socio-economic studies. 
18. Finally, the IICA has supported public awaren ess activities for the Black Sigatoka disease in 
bananas and cooperated in the or ganization of a national quarantine workshop in Saint Lucia. 
 For more information, contact:  ambroseiica@candw.lc
 (Everton Ambrose), 
wdechi@iicacarc.org  (Wayne de Chi). 
 
Inter-American Institute for C ooperation on Agriculture (IICA) 
Agricultural Health and Food Safety 
http://infoagro.net/salud  
http://www.iica.int  
 
__________