WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/33 
2 November 2004 
 
 (04-4656) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
PROCEDURE TO ENHANCE TRANSPARENCY  
OF SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT IN FAVOUR  
OF DEVELOPING COUNTRY MEMBERS 
 
Decision by the Committee
 
 
27 October 2004 
 
 1. At its meeting of 2-3 April 2003, the Comm ittee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
("the Committee") adopted, in principle, the Canadi an proposal to enhance tr ansparency of special 
and differential treatment within the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures (the "SPS Agreement") (G/SPS/W/127), as one step for immediate implementation by Members, subject to further elaboration of the pr ocedures to be followed.  This proposal builds upon a 
proposal by Egypt for enhanced transparency through modification of the notification formats (G/SPS/GEN/358).   
2. The Committee hereby agrees on the procedures to be followed. 
3. The proposed procedure essentially follow s the relevant current practices and 
recommendations regarding the submission and handling of notifications as described in 
G/SPS/7/Rev.2, with new actions included as Steps 5, 6 and 7. 
4. Following one year of the adoption of this procedure, the Committee shall review the 
proposed notification process to evaluate its im plementation, and determine whether changes are 
required and/or its continuance is warranted. 
5. This procedure is without prejudice to th e rights and obligations of Members under 
Article 10.1 of the SPS Agreement.  In adopting th e Canadian proposal, Members reaffirmed that in 
the preparation and application of sanitary and ph ytosanitary (SPS) measures, Members shall take 
account of the special needs of developing country Members and in particular of the least-developed 
country Members.  The Committee recognized that th is would not fully resolve the issue of special 
and differential treatment, but that this was one st ep in addressing the problem of implementation of 
the special and differential treatment provisions of  the Agreement.  The Co mmittee also agreed to 
consider other proposals and possible actions. 
Step 1
.  A Member preparing a new or a revision to an existing SPS regulation shall submit a 
notification to the WTO Secretariat, following the guidance provided in G/SPS/7/Rev.2.  The 
notification should be made when a draft with th e complete text of the proposed regulation is 
available, and when amendments can still be introduced and comments taken into account.  The 
notifying Member should provide in Box 3 of the notification format a clear description of the products covered, including tariff item numbers where possible.  The notifying Member should also 
complete Box 4, identifying the geographical regions or countries likely to be affected by the notified 
regulation to the extent relevant or practicable.  The notifying Member should identify in Box 12 the 
final date for receiving comments and the agency responsible for handling comments.  The Member 
shall normally allow a period of at least 60 days  for comment, except for proposed measures which G/SPS/33 
Page 2  
 
facilitate trade.  Any Member which is able to prov ide a time-limit beyond 60 days is encouraged to 
do so. 
Step 2
.  The Secretariat will circulate the notification with the minimal delay possible.  The 
Secretariat will provide paper copies of the notif ication to the permanent missions of all WTO 
Members, and mail paper copies to one other designated address if so requested by a Member.  The 
notification will be posted on both  the "Members' Only" and the public web sites of the WTO, and 
will be electronically sent within one week of ci rculation to all addresses on the SPS self-subscribing 
electronic mailing list (in the language received by th e Secretariat).  The notification will be included 
in the monthly summary of SPS notifications circulated by the Secretariat.  If a developing country Member has difficulties in receiving and distributi ng notifications after receipt, the Member should 
inform the Secretariat thereof and propose how the national enquiry point could be improved. 
Step 3
.  If a Member with an interest in exporti ng the products affected by the notification 
identifies a concern with the content of the notification, the exporting Member should contact the notifying Member, within the comment period, to seek additional information with respect to the 
notified measure and to identify their concerns.  If  the exporting Member requests an extension of the 
comment period, the notifying Member should grant requests for extension of the comment period 
wherever practicable, in particular with regard to  notifications relating to  products of particular 
interest to developing country Members, where there have been delays in receiving and translating the 
relevant documents or where there is a need for fu rther clarification of the measure notified.  A 30-
day extension should normally be provided. 
Step 4
.  The notifying Member should acknowledge r eceipt of the request for an extension of 
the comment period, or for additional information, and explain within a reasonable period of time, and 
at the earliest possible date  before the adoption of the measure,  to any Member from which it has 
received comments, how it will take these comments into account and, where appropriate, provide additional relevant informati on on the proposed sanitary or  phytosanitary regulations. 
 
Step 5
.  If an exporting Member identifies signifi cant difficulties with the proposed measure, 
that Member  may, in its comments, request an opportunity to discuss and resolve the potential 
difficulty with the notifying Member.  In response to such a written request, the notifying Member 
will contact the appropriate officials of the exporti ng Member and enter into bilateral discussions to 
attempt to resolve the issue of concern.  In th e case of such a request from an exporting developing 
country Member,  the notifying Member would in any di scussions examine whether and how the 
identified problem could best be addressed to take  into account the special needs of the interested 
exporting developing country Member.  Resolution of  the concern identified could include one of the 
following, or a combination thereof:  (1) a change  in the measure to be applied on a MFN basis;  
(2) the provision of technical assistance to the exporting Member;  or (3) the provision of special and differential treatment.  Should special and differentia l treatment be provided, it would apply equally to 
all developing country Members.  
 Step 6
.   If, following the entry into force of a new regulation (including an emergency 
measure), an exporting Member identifies significant difficulties which its exports face in complying with the new regulation, it may request an opportunity to discuss its difficulties with the importing Member to attempt to resolve the issue of concern, especially where no time, or an insufficient period 
of time, has been provided for comments.  In the case of such a request from an exporting developing 
country Member,  the importing Member would, in any discussions,  examine whether and how the 
identified problem could best be addressed  to take into account the special needs of the interested 
exporting developing country Member,  so as to enable it to satisfy the requirements of the measure.  
Resolution of the concern identified could include one of the following, or a combination thereof:  (1) 
a change in the measure to be applied on a MFN basi s;  (2) the provision of technical assistance to the 
exporting Member;  or (3) the provision of special and differential treatment.  Should special and differential treatment be provided, it would a pply equally to all developing country Members.  G/SPS/33 
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 Step 7
.  When a decision is taken on whether an d how special and differential treatment may 
be provided for a final measure in response to  specific requests, the notifying Member should 
promptly submit to the WTO Secretariat an Addendum to its original notification.  The Addendum shall indicate:  (1) if special and differential treatment was requested;  (2) the name(s) of Member(s) 
that requested special and differential treatment;  (3) if special and differential treatment was 
provided, the form of such treatment;  and (4) if not provided, the Addendum shall indicate why special and differential treatment was not provided and whether technical assistance or any other solution was found to address the identified concern.   A format for the Addendum is contained in 
Annex 1. 
 
Step 8
.  The Addendum to the notification shall be circulated by the WTO Secretariat in the 
same manner as the notification.   
 
 G/SPS/33 
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ANNEX 1 
  
 W
ORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/COUNTRY/#/Add.#  
date of distribution 
 (##-####) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:    
  
NOTIFICATION  
 
Addendum
 
  
 The following communication, dated DD/ MM/YY has been received from [Member]. 
_______________  
 
 Title outlining what the SPS measure or product is
 
 
 [Text describing any modification to the notified measure.] 
 
 Special and Differential Treatment  
  Text (1) indicating if special and differentia l treatment was requested;  (2) providing the 
name(s) of the Member(s) that requested special and differential treatment;  (3) if special and differential treatment was provided, describing how  such treatment was provided, including what 
form it took;  and (4) if special and differential treatment was not provided, indicating why it was not 
provided and whether technical assistance or any other solution was found to address the identified concern. 
 
 Where the notified document can be obtained from – include contact name, agency, full 
address, telephone, facsimile, and e-mail as appropriate.   
__________