G/SPS/GEN/2192  
 
19 December 2023  
(23-8696) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC WORKSHOP ON TRANSPARENCY  
MONDAY, 18 MARCH AND TUESDAY, 19 MARCH  2024 
WTO , CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
Note by the Secretariat1 
1.  As decided by the SPS Committee a t its November 2023 meeting, the Secretariat of the World 
Trade Organization will organize  a workshop on the transparency provisions of the Agreement on 
the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS  Agreement) , on 18-19 March 2024.  
The worksh op will be followed by informal and formal meetings of the SPS Co mmittee, lasting until 
Friday, 22  March  2024. Representatives of Members, Observers and Observer Organizations are all 
invited to participate in the transparency workshop as well as the subse quent meeting s of the 
SPS Committee.  The workshop  can be attended in -person or virtually via Zoom. Interpretation will 
be provided in English, French and Spanish . 
2.  The March 2024 workshop builds on the successful June 2022 SPS Workshop on Transparency  
which had provided the Committee with an introduction to the main functions of the ePing SPS&TBT 
Platform , launched in July 2022, which integrat es SPS and TBT online transparency tools . 
3.  The workshop aims to  enhanc e the implementation of SPS transparency provisions  by bringing 
together officials from WTO Members and Observers to engage in a technical discussion on 
SPS transparency -related work, and to exchange experiences on the use of online transparency 
tools, including the ePing SPS&TB T Platform . The workshop , open to participation by all delegates 
from WTO  Members and Observers attending the March 2024 SPS Committee meeting , will be of 
particular interest to government officials in charge of the imple mentation of the transparency 
provisions of the SPS Agreement , i.e. SPS national notification authorities and enquiry points.  
4.  The WTO Secretariat , with the financial assistance of the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust 
Fund (DDAGTF),  will sponsor  the par ticipation of  30 government officials  in this workshop.  
The Governments of Members and Observers to the WTO, which are eligible to benefit from training 
and technical cooperation activities, are invited to present one or two officials  for consideration in 
the selection process. In this regard, an invitation letter with the application form will be distributed 
to eligible technical assistance beneficiaries through their WTO representation.  
5.  Additionally, the WTO  Secretariat will be in a position to provide funding for  five government 
officials from eligible  technical assistance  beneficiaries, to participate as speakers in this workshop .2 
Participants or speakers wishing to extend their stay in Geneva for the informal and formal 
SPS Committee meetings from 20 to 22 March  2024,  would be welcome to do so on a self -funded 
basis.  
6.  Members are invited to submit comments on this draft programme and suggest  speakers  as soon 
as possible and at the latest  by Friday,  19 January 2024 . The Secretariat will circulate a revised 
version of the programme after taking into consideration the comments received.  
 
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice to 
the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 This includes a round trip airplane ticket, daily subsistence allowance, a t erminal expenses allowance, 
and accommodation for the duration of the workshop . G/SPS/GEN/2192  
 
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  DRAFT  PROGRAMME  
MONDA Y, 18 MARCH  2024 
10:00 – 11:15 
Group work on implementation challenges  
▪ Group exercises  for participants from SPS national notification authorities (NNAs) and 
national enquiry points (NEPs).  
Resource persons:  WTO; Speakers/External experts  
11:15 – 11:30 Coffee  break  
11:30 – 13:00 
Group work  on operation of notification authorities and enquiry points  
▪ Group exercises  for participants from SPS NNAs and NEPs.  
Resource persons:  WTO; Speakers/External experts  
13:00 – 15:00  Lunch break  
15:00 – 15:15 
Session 1 : Introductory remarks  
Chairperson of the SPS Committee:  Mr Tayutic Mena Retana  
15:15 – 16:15  
Session 2: Setting the scene: Transparency in the SPS Agreement  
▪ Overview of SPS transparency obligations and recommendations, as well as work 
undertaken since the 5th Review of the SPS Agreement . 
Speaker(s):  WTO 
16:15 – 16:30 Coffee  break  
16:30 – 17:15 
Session 3 : Proposals on transparency in the SPS Committee and other bodies  
▪ Overview of past transparency -related proposals discussed in the SPS Committee and 
relevant work done in other bodies (e.g., the TBT Committee) . 
Speaker(s):  WTO 
17:15 – 18:00 
Session 4 : Overview of online transparency tools  
▪ Brief presentation of online transparency tools and their main functions.  
Speaker(s) : WTO 
 
 G/SPS/GEN/2192  
 
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  TUESDAY , 19 MARCH 2 024 
10:00 – 11:15 
Session 5: Reaching out to national stakeholders on the ePing SPS&TBT Platform  
▪ Sharing of experiences on how the ePing SPS&TBT Platform has facilitated coordination 
with various domestic stakeholders , including to share  notifications from other Members 
and/or discuss comments  on the notified regulations  (for e.g. via the national forum) . 
Speaker(s):  Speakers/External experts  
11:15 – 11:30 Coffee  break  
11:30 – 13:00 
Session 6: Reaching out to other Members on the ePing SPS&TBT Platform  
▪ Sharing of experiences on  how the ePing SPS&TBT Platform has facilitated reaching out to 
other Members , including to provide comments on notifications  (for e.g. via the 
international forum ). 
Speaker(s):  Speakers/External experts  
13:00 – 15:00  Lunch break  
15:00 – 16:15 
Session 7 : Preparation and submission of notifications: National perspectives  
▪ Members will be invited to discuss  the procedures to submit SPS notifications to the WTO  
including through the ePing SPS&TBT Platform.  
Speaker(s):  Speakers/External experts  
16:15 – 16:30 Coffee  break  
16:30 – 17:30 
Session 8 : Monitoring the implementation of international standards  
▪ Discussion on the interface between transparency and monitoring the implementation of 
international standards,  including the work of the ISSB observatories.  
Speaker(s):  WTO;  Speakers/External experts  
17:30 – 18:00 
Session 9 : Next steps and closing remarks  
▪ Any thoughts on possible next steps in relation to transparency or the ePing SPS&TBT 
Platform. This will be followed by the closing remarks . 
Chairperson of the SPS Committee:  Mr Tayutic Mena Retana  
 
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