WORLD TRADE G/SPS/GEN/64
12March 1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1068)
Original: English Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
SPSAGREEMENT -TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS
Submission bytheEuropean Community atthemeeting of12-13 March 1998
1. TheEuropean Community would liketorefertoitsprevious document G/SPS/GEN/41, where
theimportance ofthefullimplementation ofthetransparency andnotification procedures, asa
fundamentalobligationWTOobligation,wasstressed.Asafollow-uptotheabove-mentioneddocument,
wewishtoreiterate thattransparency provisions andespecially theprinciple ofpreliminary publication
hasalways beenconsidered oneofthecornerstones oftheAgreements signed intheWTO framework.
Theabove provisions arecontained inGATT Article Xandinthe1979 GATT Understanding on
Notification, Consultation, Dispute Settlement andSurveillance, aswellasinthespecific WTO
Agreements, where transparency provisions arecoupled withtherelevant measures.
2. Byandlarge, WTO transparency provisions fulfil animportant roleinensuring theproper
functioning ofthemultilateral trading system, inhelping toprevent unnecessary trade restriction and
disruption fromoccurring andinproviding general aswellasproviding specific information onmarket
opportunities. Toacertain extent, these canhelpprevent trade disputes from arising. Increased
transparency isessential toprotect trading partners from hidden protectionism through unnecessary
non-tariff barriers totrade. AnyWTO Member willdrawbenefit fromsuchanapproach. Transparency
provisions provide avaluable firststepinensuring thattrade andSPSmeasures aredeveloped and
implemented inamutually supportive way.
SPSAgreement
3. Article 7oftheSPSAgreement provides thatMembers shallnotify changes intheirsanitary
andphytosanitary measures andshallprovide information ontheabove inaccordance withtheprovisions
ofAnnex B.Members aretherefore required tonotify other Members ofchanges totheirsanitary
andphytosanitary regulations which mayhaveasignificant effect ontrade andarerequested toset
upEnquiry Points torespond torequests forgeneral aswellasspecific information ontherelevant
measure. These obligations arepartially reflected indocument G/SPS/7, "Recommended Notification
Procedures".
4. Notwithstanding theabove, theprovision isfulfilled onlybyafewMembers andeventhen,
onlyinpart. According todocument G/SPS/GEN/27, "Implementation ofTransparency Obligations",
anumber ofMembers havenotyetinformed theSecretariat ofeither theirEnquiry Point ortheNational
Notification Authority. Furthermore, according toourrecords, only41Members, amongst those listed
intheabove paper, mainly developed countries, havenotified sanitary andphytosanitary measures
totheSecretariat. Itisclearfromthedataavailable sinceJanuary 1995thatalargenumber ofMembers
havenotinformed theSPSCommittee ofexisting measures ornewmeasures taken inorder toensure
theimplementation oftheAgreement inaccordance withArticle 13,andonlyafewnotified SPS
measures introduced aftertheimplementation oftheSPSAgreement. Bilateral orplurilateral agreements
between Members arerarely notified.G/SPS/GEN/64
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5. Article 10,Special andDifferential Treatment, andArticle 14,Final Provisions, oftheSPS
Agreement donotspecifically provide forphased implementation oftransparency provisions for
developing countries. However, least-developed countries canbenefit fromaderogation offiveyears
fortheimplementationoftheAgreement’sprovisions,includingtransparency.Inthelongrun,increasing
technical assistance fordeveloping country Members should partially address thisproblem.
6. However, theEuropean Community isaware ofseveral SPSmeasures which clearly affect
trade, which arenotbased oninternational standards, guidelines orrecommendations andtherefore
fallwithin thescope oftheSPSAgreement, namely Annex B,andwhich havenever beennotified.
Ofthe647draftmeasures1notified sincethedateofimplementation oftheSPSAgreement, theEuropean
Community stilllacksthetextsof161notifications. Often theECEnquiry Point’srequests forrelevant
information arefruitless, asthese areignored. Toovercome this,adhocmutual agreements were
reached recently withanumber ofWTO Members inorder toforward thetextofdraftmeasures as
soonasthese arenotified totheSecretariat. However, weconsider thatthisshould notconstitute the
normal day-to-day working procedure.
Suggested actions
(a) Communication ofthetextoftheproposal
7. Anexamination ofthetextofthedraftregulation isessential todetermine whether itsadoption
islikely tocreate discrimination orunnecessary barriers totrade. Since Members arerequired toprovide
acopyofthedraftonrequest, itwould beappropriate forthetexttoaccompany thenotification sent
totheWTO Secretariat. Itshould bemade compulsory fortheconcerned party toattach atleasta
summary inoneoftheWTO languages should thetextnotbeprovided inatleastoneoftheWTO
working languages. Toenable suchanapproach tofunction efficiently, draft measures should be
provided totheSecretariat inelectronic forminorder toallow theSecretariat toinclude themontheir
Internet website,fromwhich theycould beeasily withdrawn byMembers. Asolution should befound
foranumber ofdocuments which arenotmeant tobeavailable tothepublic -possibly through limiting
access tothatpartofthewebsite.
8. Atpresent, thenotification format provides onlyforlimited information onthemeasure
concerned, thusnotclarifying theextent andtheimportance ofthemeasure itself.
(b) Time allowed forcomments
9. Members, except incases ofurgency, areobliged toallow areasonable period oftimefor
other Members tomake comments ontheproposal notified (Annex B).Therecommended period for
comments is60days, evenifMembers areencouraged toallow ashort period forcomments of45
days, whenever possible. Thisisseldom metbyMembers duetoprocedural problems inmostofthe
cases. Theavailability onaspecific website(encoded) oftextsofthemeasures notified -notification
formats areonInternet already -would solve theabove problem.
10. Iftheabove should beruled out,other available options could be:
- torunthecomment period from thedateonwhich thenotification isissued bythe
Secretariat;
1Thisnumber does nottakeintoaccount ECmeasures.G/SPS/GEN/64
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- toextend theperiod forcomments onrequest inorder toreach atleastthesixtydays
period recommended.
(c) Enquiry Point andNotification Authority
11. Inthemost recent period wenoticed frequent changes inboththeabove authorities without
theSecretariat being properly informed. TheCommittee should recommend thatMembers inform
theSecretariat ofsuchchanges within fiveworking days.
Conclusions
12. AstheCommitteeconsiderstransparencyasoneofthefundamentalprovisionsoftheAgreement,
asignificant effort should bemade toproperly fulfil thenotification andenquiry provisions, without
which thisessential principle would benullified, withtheriskofjeopardising theentire implementation
oftheAgreement. Inthelightoftheabove, theEuropean Community would liketoremind Members
oftheirobligationsandinvitetheCommitteetoconsiderrevisingdocumentG/SPS/7inordertoreinforce
theimportance ofMembers meeting these provisions. Thenotification procedure isthefundamental
instrument toensure transparency intheapplication oftheAgreement anditistherefore essential that
Members regularly notify theirproposals under theconditions laiddown bytheAgreement.
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