G/SPS/GEN/1989/Rev.1  
 
10 March  2022 
(22-2145) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures   
 
 
SPS COMMITTEE  THEMATIC SESSION ON TRADE FACILITATIVE  
APPROACHES TO  PESTICIDE MRLS, INCLUDING SUBSTANCES  
NOT APPROVED FOR USE IN AN IMPORT MARKET  
TUESDAY, 22 MARCH  2022 
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
Revision  
The SPS Committee agreed, at its November  2021 meeting, to hold a thematic session on Trade 
Facilitative Approaches to Pesticide MRLs in the margins of its  March  2022 Committee meeting , 
based on  a proposal submitted by Australia, Colombia, Paraguay,  and the United States .1 
The thematic session will explore different approaches used by Members to address various issues 
associated with pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) and provide an opportunity for Members 
to share their experiences and best pr actices with regard to facilitating safe trade. Trade facilitative 
approaches may include harmonizing with Codex MRLs, including as a default, and establishing 
import tolerances, and Members have a variety of tools at their disposal to help develop least 
restrictive approaches to pesticide MRLs in agricultural trade. The thematic session will build off of 
recent work by the Asia -Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)  in this area and provide Members an 
opportunity to learn from one another and from key private  sector perspectives, including those 
involving transition periods and channels of trade.  
The thematic session will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday, 22 March  2022, beginning at 
10:00 (CET) , and continuing in the afternoon at 15:00  (CET) . The the matic session can be attended 
in person2 or virtually through the Interprefy platform . Interpretation will be provided in English, 
French, and Spanish.  
 
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1 G/SPS/GEN/1947 . 
2 Subject to COVID -19 restrictions that may apply.  G/SPS/GEN/1989/Rev.1  
 
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  Chairperson:  Mr Juteau Déadjufo Toussé  
1  BACKGROUND  
The SPS Agreement and recent  relevant  work in the SPS Committee . 
Speaker : 
▪ Ms Camille Fléchet , Dispute Settlement Lawyer, WTO Secretariat . The SPS Agreement , 
the SPS Committee , and pesticide MRLs . 
Context: the economic case for addressing MRLs and the impacts of risk -based and t rade facilitative 
enforcement practices (Member and industry perspectives) . 
Speaker s: 
▪ Ms Su McCluskey , Special Representative for Australian Agriculture , Department of 
Agriculture, Water and the Environment . An Australian perspective – Global solutions . 
▪ Dr Gabriel e Ludwig , Director, Sustainability and Environmental Affairs , Almond Board of 
California . Integrated Pest Management, trade, and MRLs: example almonds . 
▪ Dr David Epstein , Vice President for Scientific Affairs , Northwest Horticultural Council . 
A perspective from the US Pacific Northwest.  
▪ Mr Geoffrey Onen , Assistant Commissioner, Directorate of Government Analytical 
Laboratory, Uganda.  Uganda perspective on trade challenges and solutions to MRLs in food 
commodities . 
Followed by Q&A session . 
2  THE ROLE OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS : JMPR AND CCPR  
Perspective and guidance from the Codex Alimentarius , with a focus on  the FAO/WHO Joint Meeting 
on Pesticide Residues (JMPR) and the Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues (CCPR) . 
Speaker s: 
▪ Dr Ian Dewhurst , JMPR Expert . JMPR – Procedures behind the establishment of MRLs . 
▪ Ms Gracia Brisco , Food Standards Officer,  Codex Secret ariat. Recent developments in CCPR 
on the establishment of MRLs for pesticides in food and feed . 
Followed by Q&A session . 
Member experiences harmonizing with Codex MRLs, including as a default ( importing and exporting 
Members , and industry ). 
Speaker s: 
▪ Ms Hermine Reich , Senior Scientific Officer , European Food Safety Authority . Pesticide 
Codex MRLs and EU risk assessment . 
▪ Mr Diogo Penha Soares , Health Regulation Expert, Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency. 
Brazil's experience harmonizing with Codex MRLs . 
▪ Dr Bill Jolly , Chief Assurance Strategy Officer, Ministry for Primary Industries, New Zealand . 
New Zealand's commitment to harmonization of international agrichemical assessment 
processes and recognition of MRLs . 
▪ Mr Gord Kurbis , Vice-President , Trade Policy  – Crop Protection, Canada Grains Council. 
Exporters' perspectives on pesticide regulations . 
Followed by Q&A session . G/SPS/GEN/1989/Rev.1  
 
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  3  THE ROLE OF IMPORT TOLERANCES  
APEC Guideline on Setting Import Tolerances . 
Speaker s: 
▪ Mr Steve J. Crossley , Director of International Affairs and Dietary Exposure Assessment, 
Food Standards Australia New Zealand (Canberra ). The development of guidance on import 
MRLs and international initiatives . 
▪ Ms Anna Gore , Senior Program Manager , United States Department of Agriculture, Foreign 
Agricultural Service . Leveraging the APEC Import MRL Guidelines for trade facilitation in 
ASEAN . 
Followed by Q&A session . 
Member experiences with import tolerances (importing and exporting Members).  
Speakers : 
▪ Ms Jung Kyunghee , Scientific Officer, Residues and Contaminants Standard Division, 
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety , Republic of Korea . Import tolerance and positive list system 
in Korea . 
▪ Mr Eduardo Aylwin , Advisor , Chilean Food Safety and Quality Agency ( ACHIPIA ). The role 
of import tolerances – the perspective of Chile, an exporting country . 
▪ Dr Chia -Ding Liao , Section Chief, Food Safety Division, Food and Drug Administration , 
Chinese Taipei . Experience sharing on current practice in establishing import  tolerances for 
pesticide residues in food. 
Followed by Q&A session . 
4  ADDRESSING MRL ENFORCEMENT MEASURES  
Member and industry experiences with limit s of detection , and channels of trade/transition periods . 
Speakers : 
▪ Dr Charlotte Liang , Chemist, Office of Food Safety, Center for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition, U nited States Food and Drug Administration  and Ms Dana Friedman , Chief, 
Risk Management and Implementation Branch I, Pesticide Re -evaluation Division, Office of 
Pesticide Program s, United States Environmental Protection Agency . US pesticide regulatory 
decisions and channels of trade considerations for implementation . 
▪ Dr Reinhold Kugel , Head of Product Safety, BarthHa as GmbH & Co. KG and Plant Protection 
Representative, German Hop Industry Association. MRL enforcement issues and experiences 
of the German hop industry . 
▪ Ms Carmen Tiu , Global MRL and Import Tolerances Leader , Regulatory Affairs  and Product 
Stewardship , Corteva Agriscience . Registrant experience MRL enforcement: trade impact and 
food for thought . 
Followed by Q&A session . 
5  CLOSING REMARKS  
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