G/SPS/GEN/1758  
 
28 February  2020 
(20-1530) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
SANITARY AND PHYTOSA NITARY DECLARATION F OR THE TWELFTH WTO M INISTERIAL 
CONFERENCE  
SUBMISSION BY  BRAZIL, CANADA , AND THE UNITED STA TES OF AMERICA  
 
The following communication, received on 27 February 2020 , is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation s of Brazil, Canada, and the United States of America.  
 
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1.  The twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference coincides with the 25th anniversary of the 
SPS Agreement  — an opportune point to reflect on the successes achieved sin ce its adoption, and 
to recognize the challenges ahead resulting from emerging pressures related to international trade 
in food, animals, and plants.  
2.  We wish to take this opportunity to underline that the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary 
and Phyto sanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) and its provisions are as relevant and applicable today  
as they were in 1995, and they continue to safeguard the right for Members to take measures 
necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health.  
3.  In addition to this, the implementation of the SPS Agreement by Members supports rural 
livelihoods, facilitates trade, and supports sustainable agricultural growth. Of particular note to these 
outcomes are the contributions of the SPS Agreement 's provisions requiring Members to be 
transparent in taking SPS measures; and that these measures be based on scientific principles, 
applied only to the extent necessary, and not be maintained without sufficient scientific evidence, 
including through an assessment of ri sk. 
4.  We recognize that the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) 
has been instrumental in advancing the implementation of the SPS Agreement, particularly as it 
relates to improving transparency of SPS measures through increase d notification among Members. 
Looking to the future, the SPS Committee will continue to undertake valuable work, and Members 
remain committed to the continued enhancement of the implementation of the SPS Agreement.  
5.  We reaffirm  the rights and obligations of  Members established by the SPS Agreement and call 
for Members ' strengthened  adherence to the SPS Agreement to support international trade while 
ensuring the protection of human, animal and plant life or health.  
6.  The Membership acknowledges the evolution of  the global agricultural landscape since the 
adoption of the SPS Agreement in 1995, which has brought about a variety of new opportunities and 
emerging pressures for the international trade in food, animals, and plants. This includes but is not 
limited to:  
− the expanding global population, as well as changing population structures and distribution;  
− the increased pace of innovation in tools and technologies;  
− the changing climatic conditions and associated stresses on food production;  
− the growing importance of sustainable agricultural practices;  
− the shifting pressures due to the spread of pests, disease, disease -carrying organisms, or 
disease -causing organism s; and  G/SPS/GEN/1758  
 
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  − trade protectionism through the application of SPS measures that would constitute a disguised 
restriction on international trade.  
7.  To that end, the Ministerial Conference decides that the SPS Committee will further enhance the 
implementation of the S PS Agreement in an effort to better manage issues related to international 
trade in food, animals and plants by undertaking with the utmost degree of transparency a work 
programme, which would be open to all Members and Observers, consisting of new work to  identify: 
(1) common challenges in the implementation of SPS Agreement obligations and the mechanisms 
available to address them; and (2) the impacts of emerging pressures on the application of the 
SPS Agreement.  
8.  This work programme does not launch the neg otiation of new obligations, nor re -opens the 
SPS Agreement . 
9.  The SPS Committee will address the outcomes of this work programme and report on key findings 
and actions undertaken as a result of this work to the thirteenth Ministerial Conference with 
recommendations, as appropriate.   
10.  Through the work programme, the Ministerial Conference envisions that the SPS Committee 
should explore the following themes, including but not limited to:  
− How to facilitate sustainable intensification of agricultural produ ction and international trade 
including by facilitating the adoption and use of safe, innovative plant -protection products and 
veterinary medicines  and by  encourag ing of the use of international standards, guidelines, 
and recommendations developed by the C odex Alimentarius Commission, the World 
Organisation for Animal Health, and the International Plant Protection Convention to protect 
human, animal, or plant life or health, including maximum residue limits for veterinary drugs 
and pesticides.  
− How to suppo rt basing SPS measures on scientific principles and scientific evidence in 
situations where there is scientific uncertainty, and to promote the use of internationally 
consistent approaches to risk analysis including  where international standards, guideline s, or 
recommendations do not exist or are not appropriate .  
− How to support and facilitate greater access to and safe use of innovative tools and 
technologies (for example, plant breeding innovations to manage emerging  pest pressures 
while supporting integr ated pest management strategies) including through risk-based 
control, inspection, and approval procedures.  
− How to enhance food security and the safe international trade in food, plant, and animal 
through adaptation of SPS measures to regional conditions, including pest - or disease -free 
areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence, which can strengthen Members ' ability to 
protect plant and animal life or health through efforts to limit the spread of pests such as 
Fall Armyworm, diseases such as African  Swine Fever, disease -carrying organisms, or disease 
causing organisms.  
− How to encourage cooperation  with observer  organizations that support the work of the 
SPS Committee and the international standard setting bodies  through technical exchanges 
and assis tance  in the context of this work programme .  
− Other topics as identified over the course of the analysis or as a result of emerging sanitary 
or phytosanitary pressures worldwide . 
 
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