G/SPS/GEN/1714  
28 June 2019 
(19-4372) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
ACTIONS AIMED AT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO AGREEMENT  
ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
INFORMATION SUBMITTED BY THE INTER AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR  
COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA)  
The following communication, received on 28 June 2019, is being circulated at the request of 
the IICA. 
 
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The observer organizations of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports o n the activities that they have carried out to promote 
the understanding and implementation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) . The IICA would like to present some of the actions and 
activities that i t considers relevant to the work of this Committee.  
1  SUPPORT FOR MULTILATERAL FORUMS ASSOCIATED WITH SANITARY AND 
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
1.1  Codex colloquia  
1.1.  During the first half of 2019, the IICA, together with the United States Department of 
Agriculture (USDA ) held six virtual Codex Alimentarius colloquia.  
Subject of colloquium  Date of 
colloquium  Number of participating 
countries  
General principles  (31 CCGP)  21 February  29 countries  
Food additives  (51 CCFA)  28 February   22 countries   
Pesticide residues  (51 CCPR)  20 March  20 countries  
Food labelling  (45 CCFL)  26 March  24 countries   
Contaminants in foods  (13 CCCF)  29 March  21 countries  
Methods of analysis and sampling  (40 CCMAS)  10 May 13 countries  
 
1.2.  Countries from the Codex region of Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC), the United States 
and Canada participated in the colloquia.  
1.3.  From 18 to 19 June, a face -to-face colloquium  was held in Costa Rica, with the participation of 
18 countries . The event focused on the agenda items  discussed in the Executive Committee and 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission in the first half of July.  
1.4.  These activities  were coordinated and financed by the USDA, with the collaboration of the 
coordinator  of the CCLAC and the IIC A. 
1.2  Promotion of participation in Codex Alimentarius meetings  
1.5.  Under the Programme to Promote Participation in Codex Alimentarius meetings, the IICA, with 
financing from the USDA, promoted the participation of 12 countries from the CCLAC region  and 
the Codex  region of Asia (CCASIA ) in the 42nd Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission . G/SPS/GEN/1714  
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  1.3  Virtual coordination sessions  
1.6.  The support that the IICA provides to CCLAC countries in the area of communication and 
coordination includes, prior to each Codex meeting, the provision of a virtual communication 
platform to enable coordination between the countries . During the first half of the year, support was 
provided for 12 meetings.  
1.4  Support for the study of OIE standards  
1.7.  From 24 to 2 5 April, a strategic sessio n was held at the IICA headquarters for the analysis of 
several chapters of the OIE Terrestrial Code . The event was held for the third year in a row, and 
served as excellent preparation for participants prior to the World Assembly of OIE delegates . It was 
organized with funding from and in collaboration with the USDA.  
1.5  Support for WTO training workshops  
1.8.  The IICA continues to provide support for and follow -up to the Advanced Course on Sanitary 
and Phytosanitary Measures held in November  2018, through the deve lopment of and assistance for 
country projects carried out by participants.  
2  OTHER ACTIVITIES  
2.1  Phytosanitary intelligence  
2.1.  During the week beginning 1 7 June, the first stage of a process to build phytosanitary 
intelligence capacities in Argentina and Chile was completed . Specialists from the 
National  Agriculture and Food Quality and Health Service (SENASA) of Argentina and the Agriculture 
and Livestock Service (SAG) of Chile met in Mendoza to establish a framework for sanitary and 
phytosanitary intelligence systems, which will be implemented in parallel , with support from 
the IICA. 
2.2.  At the event , concepts and objectives were defined, tools were identified and preliminary work 
streams  were developed , with a view to improving phytosanitary surveillance through the 
development of technology, preparing reports on international threats and developing 
epidemiological models for pests of concern . 
2.2  Antimicrobial resistance  
2.3.  The IICA continues t o support its member countries in the development of integrated 
antimicrobial resistance surveillance plans throughout the agri -food chain, with ongoing processes 
in countries such as Belize, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador . From 17 to 2 1 June, another 
process was carried out in Jamaica.  
2.3  Maximum residue limits  
2.4.  In May, the officials  respons ible for the registration of pesticides and the regulation of maximum 
residue limits (MRLs) in agricultural products for trade from Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, 
Guatemala, Honduras and Panama examined the benefits of harmonizing the regulations at regional 
level.  
2.5.  This activity took place at a workshop in Antigua, Guatemala , which was organized by 
the Foreign Agricultural Service (FAS) of the USDA , with t he collaboration of the IICA. In October, 
another event will be held in the Dominican  Republic . The aim of the process is to build technical, 
regulatory and institutional capacity for the management of MRLs.  
2.4  Leadership course on sanitary and phytosanitary measures (SPS)  
2.6.  The IICA will organize a leadership course on SPS measures  in 2019 -2020. The FAS of the  USDA 
is providing funds to support the programme, which is a collaboration between the IICA and 
the Executive Education Centre of the University of La Pa z, mandated by the United Nations . G/SPS/GEN/1714  
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  2.7.  The course is open to plant health, animal health and food safety professionals who are directly 
responsible  for the implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary regulations . The objective of this 
programme is two -fold, as it aims to develop a cadre of leaders in Latin America w ith the skills to 
implement significant changes in the area of SPS, and also to promo te intersectoral dialogue and 
collaboration to foster the effective implementation of standards at national, regional and global 
level.  
2.8.  The programme will be conducted in English and will consist of two face -to-face meetings (from  
26 to 30 August  2019 and from 20 to  24 April 2020) in San José , Costa Rica, as well as  monthly 
online training sessions.  
For further information, please contact Robert Ahern (robert.ahern@iica.int ). 
Inter American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)  
Agricultural Health and Food Safety  
http://www.iica.int  
 
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