G/SPS/GEN/2081  
 
16 November 2022 
(22-8509) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
EUROPEAN UNION  IMPORT TOLERANCES FOR CERTAIN PESTICIDES  
TO ACHIEVE ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES IN THIRD   
COUNTRIES  – SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERN 534  
SUBMISSION BY THE UNITED STATES  OF AMERICA  
The following submission, received on 11 November 2022, is the statement made by the United 
States of A merica at the 9 -11 November 2022 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 thanks Australia, China and also India for raising this concern, and similarly 
extends appreciation to the other Members that have also raised their concerns with this measure 
and the EU approach.  
2.  The United States shares the European Commission's goals for more sustainable food systems, 
and we recognize the importance of c onsidering the economic, social, and environmental dimensions 
of sustainability. We echo the comments of the many WTO Members who have spoken today and 
who rightly understand that countries require the use of diverse approaches, tools, and technologies 
to meet sustainability objectives, which vary by location and scale.  
3.  The United States reiterates its concerns with the proposed application of EU domestic 
environmental policies to imported agricultural and agri -food products from third countries. We are 
concerned that this approach will not recognize the science -based regulatory frameworks and the 
competence of EU trading partners' national authorities to address domestic climate and 
environmental challenges, many of which differ from those of the European  Union. 
Competent  authorities must remain empowered to establish the measures necessary for the 
protection of human, animal, or plant life or health within their own territories.  
4.  The United States is concerned by the European Union's recent notification, G/TBT/N/EU/908 , 
which will requ ire imported agriculture and agri -food products from third countries to meet reduced 
EU maximum residue limits, or MRLs, for two neonicotinoids – clothianidin and thiamethoxam – 
to protect global pollinator health.  
5.  As we note in our comments today and will  also raise in the TBT Committee, the United States 
shares the EU concerns about pollinator health and is actively working to protect bees and other 
pollinators in the United States. We note the widely shared scientific understanding that complex 
interacti ons among multiple factors affect bee colony and wild pollinator health, including the 
presence of pests, pathogens, and diseases; pesticide use; poor nutrition due to loss of foraging 
habitats; bee management practices; and lack of genetic diversity.  
6.  Howe ver, we also raise this issue today in the SPS committee because we have questions 
concerning the scientific evidence provided by the European  Union  and the relationship with the 
stated regulatory objectives of protecting animal or plant life or health and  protection of the 
environment in a manner that is no more trade restrictive than necessary. Based on the evidence 
cited, it is unclear that the use of these substances at current MRL levels poses an actual risk to 
pollinators, either in the European  Union  or globally. The studies cited only evaluate 
European  production systems and a limited number pollinators found in Europe and do not consider 
regional conditions, practices, and fauna in other parts of the world.  G/SPS/GEN/2081  
 
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  7.  Further, WTO Members rely on MRLs, including MRLs established by Codex Alimentarius (Codex), 
to ensure food safety for consumers and to facilitate trade in agricultural products. The United States 
reminds the European  Union  that during the July 2022 meetin g of the Codex Committee on Pesticide 
Residues (CCPR), CCPR confirmed that consideration of environmental issues of global concern was 
not within its mandate and that environmental issues are not included in CCPR risk management 
principles.  
8.  Pesticide MRLs are not an environmental safety metric, and using them as such may result in 
unintended consequences and undermine the use of international standards for food safety. 
The United States requests that the European  Union  provide additional scientific evidence  to support 
the reduction of the MRLs, especially given that the European Food Safety Authority has permitted 
the necessary continued use of clothianidin and thiamethoxam under emergency authorization use 
in the European  Union . 
9.  The United States is further  concerned that the European  Union  may not have given due 
consideration to the views sought from and obtained by Members regarding notification 
G/TBT/N/EU/908  – a concern stemming from the rushed proceedings undertaken during the 
September meeting of the EU Standing Committee on Plan t, Animal, Food and Feed (SCOPAFF), 
where a decision was taken less than a month after comments were due from WTO Members 
regarding their concerns on the proposed measure. Transparency obligations are only effective and 
meaningful when the notifying Member  actually considers feedback received; given the short time 
between the comment due date and the SCOPAFF decision, it is difficult to understand how 
EU member States would have had sufficient opportunity to consider comments made by 
WTO Members and other c oncerned stakeholders before making their decision.  
10.  Global challenges require collaboration across the global community; unilateral approaches 
based on questionable and incomplete science may complicate or further delay meaningful progress 
on these pressin g issues while unnecessarily affecting agricultural production and trade. In place of 
the EU's proposed regulation, the United States would welcome a collaborative, international 
approach to protecting pollinators and the opportunity to contribute resource s, scientific expertise, 
and new ideas.  
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