G/SPS/GEN/1878  
 
1 March 2021 
(21-1760) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
ACTIONS AIMED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO AGREEMENT  
ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY THE INTER -AMERICAN INSTITUTE  
FOR COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA)  
The following communication, received on 27 February  2021, is being circulated at the request of  
IICA. 
 
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The observer organizations of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports o n the activities they have carried out to promote 
the understanding and implementation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement). IICA would like to present some of the actions and 
activities that it conside rs relevant to the work of this Committee.  
1  SUPPORT FOR MULTILATERAL FOR A ASSOCIATED WITH SANITARY AND 
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
1.1  Codex Alimentarius Colloqui a 
1.1.  The support that IICA  provides to countries of the Codex Coordinating Committee for Latin 
America and the Caribbean (CCLAC) in the area of communication and coordination includes, prior 
to each Codex meeting, the provision of a virtual communication platform to enable coordina tion 
between the countries. In preparation for the 32rd Session of the Codex Committee on General 
Principles (CCGP23) and in collaboration with the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
and the African Union 's Inter -African Bureau for Animal Resou rces (AU -IBAR), IICA hosted an 
Interregional Virtual Colloquium for Countries of the Coordinating Committee for Africa (CCAFRICA), 
the CCLAC and the United States, in January 2021. Additionally, in February 2021, another virtual 
colloquium was held exclusi vely for the CCLAC countries , in partnership with the USDA. These events 
provided an opportunity for delegates from these two regions and the US to analyse issues of 
common interest and develop regional participation strategies prior to the CCGP32.  
1.2  Regiona l Virtual Workshop on Transparency and Good Practices of National 
Notification Bodies  
1.2.  Last December, representatives of 17 countries of the region were trained on WTO provisions 
applied to transparency and notification. This activity was jointly developed and implemented with 
the WTO and the authorities of the Government of Chile with the aim of : (i) deepening knowledge 
about the SPS Agreement, the principle of transparency and the responsibilities of the National 
Notification Authorities (NNA) ; (ii) sharin g management experiences of the region's NNA ; and 
(iii) detecting opportunities for the improvement of good management practices for the operation of 
NNAs. This activity culminated a process initiated in the 2019 WTO/SPS Advanced Course and has 
contributed  to consolidating IICA's relationship with the WTO/SPS Secretariat.  G/SPS/GEN/1878  
 
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  2  INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS AND REGULATIONS IN REGARD TO SPS MEASURES  
2.1  Strategy Session on OIE Guidelines  
2.1.  Aiming at improving coordination and promoting the development of harmonized comments o n 
the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code chapters, IICA hosted the sixth edition of its Strategy 
Session , organized in partnership and sponsored by the USDA. Ninety -four participants from twenty -
three IICA member countries were represented in the three ses sions held virtually, between 
7-10 December 2020. Regional positions on Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE – 
Chapter  11.4), Contagious Equine Metritis (Chapter 12.2), Equine Piroplasmosis (Chapter 12.7), 
Tuberculosis, Brucellosis, Scrapie, Foot and Mout h Disease, Considerations on "Wild Life " 
(Chapter  3.1 – Quality of Veterinary Services) and Aquatic Code Diseases (Listing of TiLV, De -listing 
IHHNV, Biosecurity for Aquiculture Establishments and Approaches for Demonstrating Disease 
Freedom) were discussed.  
2.2  Project - Harmonization of Pesticide Registration Procedures and Maximum Residue 
Limits for the Central and Andean Regions  
2.2.  Following up to the information provided in October 2020 ( G/SPS/GEN/1832 ), IICA and the 
USDA are taking specific actions to support the alignment of national pesticide registration systems 
and to harmonize maximum residue levels (MRLs) with the objective of facilitating  trade in Central 
America and the Andean Regions. During the past three months, the project focused on 
implementing training sessions, for the Central Region, on topics related to pesticides registration, 
MRLs and bio -pesticides. The training sessions were  held virtually on December 2020 and during the 
week of 25 –29 January 2021. A new series of training sessions by IICA, the USDA and the 
US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will take place within the first semester of 2021.  
2.3  Project - Sanitary and Phyto sanitary (SPS) Measures  
2.3.  With the aim of assisting the region to modernise their AHFS systems for improved agricultural 
trade interventions, the 11th European Development Fund (EDF) Programme SPS Measures Project 
builds on previous investments to strengthen  SPS systems in the regulatory environment and in 
supply chain systems. The Project focuses on strengthening the SPS regulatory environment, public 
and private sector capacity to comply with SPS measures, standards, and procedures and 
SPS capacity in the f isheries sector. The beneficiaries of the Project include public and private sectors 
from Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, the Bahamas, Belize, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Grenada, 
Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, S aint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, S aint Vincent a nd the Grenadines, 
Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago.  
2.4  Seminar "Adoption of an Electronic Phytosanitary Certificates System to Support 
Trade in Latin America and the Caribbean"  
2.4.  Last October, IICA in partnership Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency 
(CAHFSA), the Plant Health Committee of the Southern Cone (COSAVE), and the Inter -American 
Coordinating Group in Plant Protection (GICSV) organized this Seminar to promote the adoption of 
the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) ePhyto s ystem countries. More than 260 plant 
health professionals from the Hemisphere were able to share implementation experiences, lessons 
learnt and gaps that need to be addressed to increase the number of countries adopting the IPPC 
ePhyto system to sustain ag rifood trade in LAC.  
2.5  "SPS Leadership Program"  
2.5.  IICA, with the support of the Foreign Agricultural Service FAS/USDA and in collaboration with 
the University of Peace (UPEACE), concluded the 2019/2020 SPS Leadership Program. The program 
aimed at equipping pub lic sector SPS leaders with the skills to promote the implementation of 
science -based policies and standards in Latin America and in the Caribbean and to develop a network 
of professionals working on leadership and SPS issues. Over a one -year period, and a  series of 
physical and virtual sessions, each participant was given the opportunity to develop individual 
projects on SPS matters for further implementation in their countries. A total of twelve participants 
were formed under this  program.  G/SPS/GEN/1878  
 
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  2.6  Methodology for  socioeconomic impact evaluation of phytosanitary measures (MEIS)  
2.6.  With the objective of sharing this methodology and its application on phytosanitary measures 
applied to Huanglongbing disease (HLB) prevention, IICA and the GICSV organized the Webinar 
"Meth odology for socioeconomic impact evaluation of phytosanitary measures " last November. 
The MEIS has been developed within the framework of the STDF 502/COSAVE Project and has 
proven useful for National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs).  
3  OTHER ACTIVITIE S 
3.1  Online Training on Transboundary Animal Diseases with emphasis on African Swine 
Fever for the CARICOM and CVP countries  
3.1.  IICA, in collaboration with the USDA APHIS and the Center for Food Security and Public Health 
(CFSPH) at Iowa State University (ISU) , hosted two online self -paced courses for the Southern and 
Caribbean countries, aimed at increasing the competencies of veterinarians and other animal health 
professionals to identify, prevent, respond, control and eradicate African swine fever. For the 
Southern Region, the course was offered in Spanish from September to December 2020. For the 
Caribbean Region, the course was offered in English between October 2020 and January 2021. 
More editions will be available until 2022.  
3.2  Regional Virtual Course Diagnost ic and Surveillance Virtual Training – Tomato Leaf 
Miner, Tuta absoluta  
3.2.  Held last December, the regional Virtual Course aimed at strengthening safeguarding systems 
in the Region with the objective of reducing pest incursions that could potentially threaten  agriculture 
production and trade, under the Greater Caribbean Safeguarding Initiative (GCSI). Twenty plant 
health professionals from fifteen Caribbean countries were trained in the diagnostics and surveillance 
of Tuta absoluta  and are now conducting surve illance activities for the pest. The initiative was held 
by IICA in collaboration with the University of Florida and with support from the Greater Caribbean 
Safeguarding Initiative (GCSI), which is funded by the USDA -APHIS PPQ.  
3.3  Virtual Regional School on P hytosanitary Inspection - ERVIF  
3.3.  Fifty-six new phytosanitary inspectors, from public and private sector, of seven South American 
countries (Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay) were formed upon 
the conclusion of the International M odule. The National Module of ERVIF Argentina with a Diploma 
degree was inaugurated in alliance with SENASA and the University of Lomas de Zamora with more 
than 30 students in its first cohort.  
3.4  Development of the Integrated Surveillance Plan on Antimicrobi al Resistance (AMR) 
for the agri -food chain of Ecuador, Dominican Republic and Belize  
3.4.  IICA provide technical and logistical support to the official sector of Ecuador (Agrocalidad), 
Dominican Republic, and Belize, in the development of a Surveillance Plan o n Antimicrobial 
Resistance throughout the Agri -Food Chain, integrating all the national agencies involved in AMR 
surveillance activities.  
3.5  Support for the Implementation of the US Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)  
3.5.  IICA, in conjunction with the FDA Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, 
continues to strengthen the capacities of professionals in the Hemisphere in the FSMA regulations 
on the safety of fresh agricultural products. To date, more than 50 Lead Tr ainers in the FSMA 
Standard on the safety of fresh agricultural products and more than 5,000 producers have been 
trained on the subject.  
For further information, please contact Ana Marisa Cordero ( ana.cordero@iic a.int). 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)  
Agricultural Health and Food Safety  
http://www.iica.int  
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