G/SPS/GEN/1791   
18 June 2020  
(20-4288)  Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: Spanish  
 
  
APEC INITIATIVE ON PROMOTING  TRANSPARENCY  THROUGH  THE IMPROV EMENT OF  
INFORMATION SUBMITTED  IN SANITARY AND PHYT OSANITARY NOTIFICATI ONS 
COMMUNICATION FROM P ERU 
The following communication , received on  18 June 2020, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of Peru. 
 
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1.   Peru wishes to inform WTO Members of the outcomes achieved  under the APEC initiative on  
Promoti ng Transparency through the Improvement of Information Submitted  in Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary  Notifications  by APEC economies . This topic is of major  importance to this Committee, 
as transparency is a fundamental principle of the WTO  preventing  the creation of  unnecessary 
barriers to trade . 
2.  It should be noted that  any initiatives, guidelines  or recommendations etc. adopted  by APEC are 
voluntary and non -binding on APEC economies.  
3.  The following activities have been carried out under th is initiative : 
a. Study of APEC Economies' Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS)  Notifications on Quality and 
Completeness  of Information, published  on 17 August 2019 . 
b. APEC Public–Private Dialogue on Promoting Transparency through the Improvement of 
Information Submitted in Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Notifications , held on 22 an d 
23 August 2019 . 
c. APEC Recommendations on WTO SPS Notifications, adopted on 7 December  2019.  
4.  The Study of APEC Economies' Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Notifications on Quality and 
Completeness of Information  identified, through the analysis of APEC economies ' SPS notifications 
and a survey of the private sector in the Asia -Pacific region, that improving the information submitted  
in sections 3 ( Products covered) and 6 ( Description of content) of both regular and emergency 
notifications would have a significant impact , in the short term,  on the understanding of measures 
notified to the WTO SPS Committee . 
5.  The findings  of the Study were later presented and validated at the APEC Public–Private Dialogue 
on Promoting Transparency through the Improvement of Information  Submitted in Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary (SPS) Notifications . During the  Dialogue , other points that would improve 
understanding of APEC notifications  were identified , such as  ensuring that  web links  worked; 
describing the exact changes from previous measu res in the description of the notified measures ; 
and identifying enquiry points . 
6.  Based on the outcomes of  the Study and the Public-Private Dialogue, the APEC Recommendations 
on WTO SPS Notifications were adopted. These recommendations include the timely notification of 
draft sanitary and phytosanitary  measures and emergency measures , and encouraging economies 
to take  public and private sector comments on notified measures  into considerati on. 
7.  The documents related to this initiative can be found on the link s provided below  (and are 
available in English  only): G/SPS/GEN/1791  
 
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  a. Study of APEC Economies' Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Notifications on Quality and 
Completeness of Information  
Available at : https://www.apec.org/Publications/2019/08/Study -of-APEC-Economies -SPS-
Notifications  
b. APEC Public–Private Dialogue on Promoting Transparency through the Improve ment of 
Information Submitted in Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Notifications  
Summary available at : https://apec.org/Publications/2019/11/CTI -Public-Private -
Dialogue -on-Promoting -Transparency  
c. APEC Recommendations on WTO SPS Notifications  
Appendix 10 to the APEC Committee on Trade and Investment (CTI) 2019 Annual Report , 
available at : https://www.apec.org/Publications/2019/12/2019 -CTI-Annual -Report -to-
Ministers  
8.  Peru hopes that these documents can foster  future discussions in this Committee . 
 
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