G/SPS/GEN/1767  
 
18 March  2020 
(20-2114) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
IMPLEMENTATION AND A DMINISTRATION OF THE  AGREEMENT ON SANITA RY 
AND PHYTOSANITARY ME ASURES  
COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNITED KI NGDOM   
The following communication, received on 13 March  2020, is being c irculated at the request of 
the United Kingdom . 
 
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The following information is being circulated to Members to address the ongoing implementation of 
the United Kingdom 's obligations under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures during th e transition period following the United Kingdom's  
withdrawal from the European Union . 
 
1  EXISTING EUROPEAN UN ION LAW  
1.1.  The United Kingdom ceased to be a member State of the European Union on 31 January 2020. 
The United Kingdom and the European Union have agreed a Withdrawal Agreement which provides 
for a time -limited transition period until  1 January 2021 during which European Union law, as 
implemented through the Withdrawal Agreement, will continue to apply to and in the 
United  Kingdom. This means that th e European Union SPS regime will continue to apply in the 
United  Kingdom  during the transition period and, following that, the United Kingdom  will apply its 
own SPS regime. The United Kingdom Parliament has legislated to repeal the European Communities 
Act 1972 by means of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018. This also preserves, and 
incorporates into domestic law, those elements of European Union law which will apply in the 
United  Kingdom at the end of the transition period. The European Union (Withdr awal Agreement) 
Act 2020 in turn implements the Withdrawal Agreement, including by amending the European Union 
(Withdrawal) Act 2018 to reflect the terms of the Withdrawal Agreement. All UK legislation and 
technical regulations can be found at www.legislation.gov.uk . 
2  UK SPS REGULATORY SY STEM  
2.1.  The UK Government is responsible for matters pertaining to the SPS Agreement and 
international trade. However, powers to implement, regulate and assure food safety, animal a nd 
plant health including matters relating to import and export, have been devolved by the 
UK Parliament to the respective administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (collectively 
referred to as the Devolved Administrations).  G/SPS/GEN/1767  
 
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  2.2  The key governmen t bodies responsible for implementing the United Kingdom's  SPS controls 
are listed below:  
Key Government Body  SPS responsibility  
Department for Environment, Food and 
Rural Affairs (Defra)  
Website: 
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisati
ons/department -for-environment -food-
rural-affairs  Defra is the UK Central Competent Authority for 
animal health and welfare law in England and is 
responsible for policy and regulations on 
environmental, food and rural issues.  
SPS responsibility areas include;  
• Animal health (including dairy, feed and poultry)  
• Food safety (including additives, contaminants, 
food hygie ne, food contact materials, labelling, 
pesticides)  
• Veterinary Medicines  
• Plant health (including wood packaging material, 
GMOs, pesticides)  
• Pesticides, chemicals and contaminants  
• Fish 
Food Standards Agency (FSA) in England, 
Wales and Northern Ireland  
Website: https://www.food.gov.uk/  The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for 
food and feed safety in England, Wales and Northern 
Ireland.  
Chemicals Regulation Directorate, Health 
and Safety Executiv e (HSE)  
Website: http://www.hse.gov.uk/crd/  The Chemicals Regulation Division (CRD) is 
responsible for the regulation of biocides, pesticides, 
detergents, chemicals covered by REACH, and for 
compliance with the Cl assification, Labelling and 
Packaging (CLP) Regulation.  
Scottish Government  
Website: https://www.gov.scot/  The Scottish Government have devolved powers in 
relation to policies and laws for environment, 
agriculture and rural affairs.   
Food Standards Scotland (FSS)  
Website: 
https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/  Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has responsibilities in 
Scotland for food and feed safety and standards, 
nutrition, food labelling, and meat inspection policy 
and operational delivery.  
Welsh Government  
Website: https://gov. wales/  The Welsh Government have devolved powers in 
relation to policies and laws for environment, 
agriculture and rural affairs.   
Department of Agriculture, Environment 
and Rural Affairs (DAERA) in Northern 
Ireland  
Website: https://www.daera -ni.gov.uk/  DAERA  has devolved powers in relation to policies 
and laws for environment, agriculture and rural 
affairs.   
3  OVERALL RESPONSIBILI TY FOR THE WTO SPS A GREEMENT  
3.1.  The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), together with the Food 
Standards Agency (FSA), is the United Kingdom government department responsible for 
international representation of the United Kingdom on matters pertaining to the WTO S PS 
Committee. Enquiries relating to the Agreement may be addressed to the United Kingdom SPS 
Enquiry Point and Notification Authority.  
UK WTO SPS National Notification Authority and Enquiry Point  
WTO Policy Team  
EU and International Trade Directorate  
Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs  
Area 3E  
17 Smith Square  
London  
United Kingdom  
SW1P 3JR  
Email: uksps@defra.gov.uk  G/SPS/GEN/1767  
 
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  4  NOTIFICATION OF DRAF T MEASURES AND PARTI CIPATION IN COMMITTE E 
4.1.  The United Kingdom is strongly committed to a free and fair  trading regime, underpinned by 
an inclusive  multilateral rules -based system. Upholding WTO obligations is of paramount importance 
and will be achieved by being fully transparent and accountable, including as  follows:  
− Notifying and publishing proposed SPS measures in accordance with the obligations of the 
WTO SPS  Agreement:  The United Kingdom  will provide draft texts for notified measures  
coming into force after the transition period and beyond  and a period of  60 days will generally 
be allowed for comments. The United Kingdom  SPS Enquiry Point will endeavour to respond 
to reasonable requests from Members in a timely fashion. Finali zed legislation will 
be notified  to the WTO and published on the official home page of United Kingdom  
legislation  - www.legislation.gov.uk/ . As outlined in Section 3 , the Department for  
Environment, Food and Rural Affairs acts as the SPS  notification authority for the 
United  Kingdom . 
− Actively participating in the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures : The 
United  Kingdom  is committed to open and productive engagement with Members, both with 
respect to measures affecting trade and on issues relating to the implementation and 
administration of the Agreement.  
− Development and technical assistance: The United Kingdom  is committed to helping 
developing countries transform their economies, unlock growth, and reduce poverty through 
trading opportunities. The United Kingdom  is continuously seeking opportunities to increase 
the capability of developing countries to meet standards and regulations for trade, promote 
international standards, and encourage greater regulatory cooperation. This is underpinned 
by a commitment to spend 0.7% of the national income on overseas aid. The Department for 
International Development  and the Department for International Trade 's joint Trade for 
Development team  serves as a co -ordination point for the United Kingdom 's Aid for Trade 
portfolio, which helps developing countries to break down barriers to trade and take better 
advantage of trading opportunities. For example, the United Kingdom  is contributing 
£2.5 million to the Standards and Trade Development Facility, which helps developing 
countries me et international agricultural standards1, enabling them to export more produce. 
Together with international partners, we are helping farmers and traders, especially in the 
poorest countries, to increase their incomes, boost economic development and lift 
themselves  out of poverty.  
 
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1 STDF’s capacity building programmes focus on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) standards.