G/SPS/GEN/2178  
 
21 November  2023 
(23-7845) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
EUROPEAN UNION  MRLS AND PESTICIDE POLICIES – SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERN 448 : 
EU MRLS FOR ALPHA -CYPERMETHRIN, BUPROFEZIN, CHLOROTHALONIL , 
CHLORPYRIFOS, CHLORPYRIFOS -METHYL , DIFLUBENZURON,   
ETHOXYSULFURON, GLUFOSINATE, IMAZALIL, IOXYNIL,   
IPRODIONE, MANCOZEB, MOLINATE, PICOXYSTROBIN   
AND TEPRALOXY DIM 
SUBMISSION BY THE UNITED STATES  OF AMERICA  
The following submission, received on 20 November  2023, is the statement made by the 
United  States of America at the 15-17 November 2023 WTO SPS Committee, and is being circulated 
at the request of the Delegation of the United States of America . 
 
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1.  The United States, along with a number of other Members, continues to express concern with 
the European Union's pesticide a pproval and renewal decisions and the systemic trade barriers that 
result from the subsequent withdrawal or reduction of pesticide maximum residue levels, or MRLs, 
to the Limit of Quantification on the basis of uncertainty and insufficient scientific evide nce. 
2.  We remind the European Union that SPS measures must be based on science and risk; should 
only be imposed when necessary to protect human, animal, or plant life or health. If SPS measures 
are justified and necessary, they should be imposed in the least  trade restrictive manner possible.  
3.  The United States has also taken note of recent EU MRL reductions to levels well below the 
European Union's current, default limit of determination (LOD) of 0.01 parts per million (ppm). The 
United States is concerned th at the European Union's efforts to lower MRLs to levels ranging from 
0.001 ppm to 0.005 ppm appears to be more trade restrictive than necessary to meet the EU level 
of protection. The United States is concerned that such reductions to MRLs will have unnece ssary 
negative effects on agricultural trade and create trade disruptions due, in part, to inaccurate residue 
analytical results, cross -contamination, or other reasons outside of the control of producers or 
exporters.  
4.  We request that the European Union mai ntain existing MRLs for active substances that do not 
pose known unacceptable food safety risks, complete a full risk assessment for each MRL prior to 
any proposed MRL reduction or withdrawal, and complete a science -based review of import tolerance 
applica tions based on consumer dietary risk in line with Codex guidance and standards.  
5.  We also ask the European Union to retain existing MRLs  while import tolerances are under 
consideration. The lack of predictability that results from the consideration of import tolerance 
requests on a "case -by-case" basis unnecessarily increases uncertainty for farmers globally and 
limits farmers' ability to protect crops from pests and diseases.  
6.  We again note the continued use of emergency authorizations by EU member States reflects the 
harsh reality facing farmers who lack effective and economical crop protection alternatives and 
underscores the very real ne ed to protect crops from harmful pest and disease pressures.  
7.  Both farmers in the European Union and around the world rely on access to the full range of tools 
and technologies available for agricultural production, and these tools are essential to mitigate  food 
safety risks and to alleviate poverty. The E uropean Union's systematic approach to MRL reductions 
based on uncertainty undermines the promotion of good agricultural practices, increases the risk of G/SPS/GEN/2178  
 
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  insect and disease resistance by limiting the abilit y of farmers to rotate pesticides, and ignores the 
impacts of evolving pest and disease pressure in a time of increased climatic changes.  
8.  Agricultural producers need to be able to use a full range of pesticides that have been thoroughly 
evaluated and permi tted for use by competent national authorities in order to further develop 
resilient agricultural sectors and farming communities. The use of these products can enhance yields 
and productivity while also limiting post -harvest losses and reducing unnecessar y food waste.  
9.  Our growers and processors are increasingly concerned that the European Union continues to 
implement transition measures that do not provide adequate time for legally produced agricultural 
products to be marketed and sold, and that appear to favour EU domestic products over imported 
products. We ask the European Union to consider more equitable and flexible approaches to 
enforcing MRLs and to adopt the least trade restrictive practices possible to allow lawfully produced 
food products that mee t applicable MRLs at the time of the pesticide application, to have sufficient 
time to move through the supply chain.  
10.  Well-functioning, objective, science -based regulatory systems protect consumers and are 
critical for trade.  
11.  During these times of increasi ng global food insecurity and unexpected global challenges related 
to changes in climate and disease, we urge the European Union to recognize that its regulatory 
approaches for pesticides are increasingly out of step with those of nearly every other Member  of 
the WTO and strongly consider the concerns that have been raised for years by many WTO Members.  
 
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