G/L/1443  
 
18 November 2022  
(22-8651) Page: 1/4 
   
 
 
REPORT (20 22) ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON  
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
1.1.  The present report is being circulated by the Chairperson of the Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) on his own responsibility. This report provides a summary 
of the activities of the SPS Committee during 2022.  
1.2.  The SPS Committee held its regular meetings (in hybrid mode) on 23 -25 March, 22 -24 June, 
and 9 -11 November 2022. Members continued to use eAgenda  to submit agenda items, raise and 
support specific trade concerns (STCs), and upload statements.  
1.3.  Mr Juteau Déadjufo Toussé (Cameroon) had been elected in July 202 1 as Chairperson  for 
2021-2022. Mr Tang -Kai Wang ( Chinese Taipei ) was elected as the new Chairperson for 202 2-2023. 
1.4.  In the first part of 2022, Members continued discussions on an SPS Declaration for the 
12th WTO Ministerial Conference  (MC12) on Responding to modern SPS ch allenges, initially 
submitted by Brazil, Canada, and the United States.1 Members' efforts led to the successful adoption 
of the MC12 S PS Declaration , instructing  the SPS  Committee to carry out a work programme to 
enhance the implementation of the SPS Agreement in an effort to better manage  issues related to 
international trade in food, animals , and plants .2 
1.5.  Following adoption at MC12, the SPS Committee launched the work programme foreseen in 
the MC12 SPS Declaration.3 Five thematic groups, led by (co)stewards, were set -up to suggest ideas 
or submit proposals for discussion in the SPS Committee, each focusing on one of the themes from 
the MC12 SPS Declaration, namely: (1) how to facilitate global food security and more sustainable 
food systems; (2)  how to support basing SPS measures on scientific evidence and principles; 
(3) how to enhance the safe international trade in food, animals and plants and products the reof 
through the adaptation of SPS measures to regional conditions; (4) how to encourage cooperation 
with observer organizations that support the work of the SPS Committee and the international 
standard -setting bodies (ISSBs); and (5) how to increase parti cipation of and support for the special 
needs of developing and least developed country Members in the development and application of 
SPS measures. On 4 October 2022, the SPS Committee held intersessional consultations to take 
stock of the initial work of these thematic groups, followed by discussions in the November 2022 
SPS informal Committee meeting. Based on the se discussions , a proposed process for the work 
programme was adopted .4 
1.6.  In addition to these thematic groups, the Working Group on Approval Pro cedures5 continued 
its work and regularly updated the SPS Committee on its activities. Over the course of 2022, 
the Working Group on Approval Procedures updated a collection of existing tools and best practices 
to enhance implementation of the obligations  of the SPS Agreement as they relate to approval 
procedures. The Working Group also concluded discussions on key challenges of approval procedures 
 
1 G/SPS/GEN/175 8/Rev.15 . 
2 WT/MIN(22)/27 . 
3 A prop osed process for discussion was circulated as document G/SPS/W/330 . 
4 G/SPS/W/330/Rev.1 . A dedicated webpage  include s all the information related to the MC12 
SPS Declaration work programme.  
5 G/SPS/W/328/Rev.1  and G/SPS /W/328/Rev.1/Add.1 . The Working  Group on Approval Procedures was 
established in November 2020. Twenty -five Members are  participating in the Working Group: Argentina, Belize, 
Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, the European Union, Japan, M exico, New Zealand, 
Norway, Paraguay, Peru, the  Philippines, the Russian Federation, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, 
Chinese  Taipei, Ukraine, the  United  Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay. The OECD is also a participant.  G/L/1443  
 
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  that affect international trade, as well as discussions on principles of approval procedures that 
facilitate international trade while meeting the importing Member's appropriate level of sanitary or 
phytosanitary protection. With this, the Working Group completed the main tasks that it had initially 
set for itself  and moved to considering outcome  document s to be submitted to the SPS Committee , 
including possible recommendations . The SPS Committee extended the Working Group until 
March  2023 to finalise these outcome documents.   
1.7.  Throughout the year, Members shared  information on various SPS -related issues. 
Japan  provided regular updates on  the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station  and 
Ukraine  provided  information  on issues affecting its SPS infrastructure and  impact ing food security . 
In addition, the  United States shared  information on crop grouping expansion efforts and 
Chinese  Taipei shared  information on an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)  workshop on 
e-certificates. Certain Members also shared information on their  pest or disease  status. 
This information conce rns the principle of regionalization  and is compiled in the Annual Report on 
the Implementation of Article 6, which the SPS Committee considered at its  July meeting.6 Two items 
on equivalence w ere also reported, with the United States recognizing Poland's  poultry laws, 
regulations, and inspection system  as well as  Lithuania' s egg products inspection system  as 
achieving an equivalent level of sanitary  protection to its own . 
1.8.  The SPS Committee considered a wide range of STCs. Members raised  26 new STCs in 2022, 
including in relation to : pesticide policies and import tolerances; disease  status  of a country or region  
as recogni zed by WOAH (founded as OIE); heavy metal contaminants in processed food; quarantine 
pests; registration requirements , inspections,  approval procedures,  and health certificate 
requirements ; and import bans or other restrictions on a variety of products (e.g. spice s, collagen 
for human consumption, groundnut and sesame seeds, honey, ornamental plants , vitamin D3, and 
ostrich meat ). In addition, m any previously raised STCs continued to be discussed. 
Members  intervened on issues such as : measures regarding pesticides ( e.g. legislation on endocrine 
disruptors); maximum residue levels (MRLs) for contaminants in food products; l egislation on 
veterinary medicinal products; emergency  measures to prevent the risk of COVID -19 transmission 
via food products; information on GM (genetically modified) origin of certain agricultural imports; 
various approval procedures; restrictions on an imal products, many due to animal diseases , as well 
as disease status of countries or areas as recognized by WOAH ; and phytosanitary restrictions.  
In 2022, the Secretariat contacted several Members to seek information regarding the status of 
STCs (resolved , partially resolved, or not resolved). A bout 57% of all STCs raised in the 
SPS Committee since 1995 can be considered as resolved or partially resolved.7 
1.9.  In relation to previously raised STCs, the SPS Committee was further informed of a request for  
the Good Offices of the Chairperson of the SPS Committee under Article 12.2 of the SPS Agreement 
and the ad hoc  consultations procedure .8 The request was eventually rejected because the relevant  
import requirements had been in the meantime pu blished . This was the first request received under 
the ad hoc consultations procedure , adopted in 2014 to further encourage and facilitate the 
resolution of specific SPS issues among Members.  
1.10.   In addition, t he SPS Committee considered  the Annual Overview on  Implementation of 
SPS Transparency Provisions and Specific Trade Concerns, issued before the March SPS Committee 
meeting9, as well as the Annual  Report on the Use of the Procedure to Encourage and Facilitate 
the Resolution of Specific SPS Issues, issued before the November SPS Committee meeting .10 
1.11.   The SPS Committee maintained its close working relationship with Codex, the IPPC, and 
the WOAH (founded as OIE) and received regular updates on their activities. Other observer 
organizations also provided inform ation on their activities. In 2022, one new request for observer 
status was submitted by the International Olive Council (IOC) .11 However , the SPS Committee did 
not reach consensus on IOC 's request.  
 
6 G/SPS/GEN/2021 . 
7 G/SPS/GEN/2062/Rev.1 . The Secretariat had con ducted a similar exercise in 2013, 2017, and 2020.  
8 G/SPS/61 . 
9 G/SPS/GEN/804/Rev.14  and G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.22 . 
10 G/SPS/GEN/2057 . 
11 G/SPS/GEN/121/Add.20 . G/L/1443  
 
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  1.12.   The SPS Committee also considered, at its Ju ne meeting, t he Annual Report on the Procedure 
to Monitor the Process of International Harmonization.12 Three new issues were raised under 
this procedure in 2022 : (1) Brazil informed Members that, in 2021, it had published 300 norms that 
took into account international food safety guidance; (2) Canada provided an update on its response 
to highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), highlighting the importance of WOAH guidelines; 
and (3) Canada updated the Committee on its negligible risk status for bovine spongiform 
encephalopathy (BSE)  as recognized by WOAH. Members also continued to discuss two issues that 
had been raised in previous years related to Members' implementat ion of standards  developed by 
WOAH  on African swine fever (ASF) and HPAI , and WOAH provided  an update on the work of its 
Observatory . In addition, the Committee discussed New Zealand 's submission on the Procedure to 
Monitor the Process of International Harmonization .13 While Members and the ISSBs acknowledged 
the importance of the monitoring procedure, the topic was not seen as a priority. One suggestion 
was that it could be addressed  as part of the work programme of the MC12 SPS Declaration or the 
Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement.  
1.13.   At each of its meetings, the SPS Committee was kept informed of the work of the Standards 
and Trade Development Facilit y (STDF).14 In addition, t he Secretariat kept the SPS Committee  
appraised  of SPS -related technical assistance activities15, including two new courses launched in 
2022: a Transparency Champions Course  in English and a Course on Essentials fo r SPS Committee 
Participation  in French.  
1.14.   The SPS Committee continued to organize dedicated activities to exchange experiences and 
hear from experts at the margins of its meetings.  In March 2022, a  Thematic Session on Trade 
facilitative approaches to pesticide MRLs, including substances not approved for use in an import 
market16 was held , based on a  proposal  by Australia, Colombia, Paraguay, and the United States.17 
The th ematic session built on APEC work  and allowed Members and industry representatives to share 
their experiences on topics such as harmonization with Codex MRLs, imp ort tolerances, 
MRL enforcement measures, and economic losses due to rejected consignments on account of 
MRL-related measures.  At a subsequent SPS Committee meeting, Members discussed a follow -up 
proposal  submitted by Australia, Canada, Colombia, Paraguay,  and the United States (now also 
co-sponsored by Japan and Uruguay) with concrete actions for the SPS Committee to continue to 
explore the issue of pesticide MRLs.18 In the discussions, Members acknowledged t he limited capacity 
of the SPS Committee  to undertake another dedicated working group at this stage, in particular i n 
light of the ongoing Working Group on Approval Procedures and the work programme to implement  
the MC12 SPS Declaratio n. The co -sponsors announced  that they would con sult with interested 
Members on possible mechanisms to carry -out the work  and subsequently suggested that this 
initiative be put on hold until the end of 2023.  
1.15.   In June 2022, M embers participated in a  Thematic Session on the Use of Remote (Virtual) 
Audit and Verification in Regulatory Frameworks19, based on a  proposal  by Australia.20 The thematic 
session provided an opportunity to share experiences on the use of remote assessment methods, 
discuss how such approaches may assist Members with their obligations under Annex C of the 
SPS Agreement, and take a closer look at the relevance an d scope for future use as well as ongoing 
initiatives, such as Codex guidance being developed.  Members also participated in a Workshop on 
Transparency  to provide  training on the new  ePing SPS&TBT Platform21, which integrated the  
SPS and technical barriers to trade (TBT) transparency tools and the ePing alert system.22 
 
12 G/SPS/GEN/2022 . 
13 G/SPS/GEN/1998 . 
14 G/SPS/GEN/1994 , G/SPS/GEN/2031 , and G/SPS/GEN/2065 . 
15 G/SPS/GEN/521/Rev.17  and G/SPS/GEN/997/Rev.12 . 
16 The final programme of the thematic session is contained in document G/SPS/GEN/1989/Rev.1  and 
the report of the thematic session in Annex B of docum ent G/SPS/R/105 . 
17 G/SPS/GEN/1947 . 
18 G/SPS/GEN/2034/ Rev.3 . 
19 The final programme for the thematic session is contained in document  G/SPS/GEN/2016/Rev.1  and 
the report of the thematic session in Annex B of G/SPS/R/107 . 
20 G/SPS/GEN/1949/Rev.1 . 
21 This new platform went live with a pilot version on 28 March 2022 and was officially launched on 
13 July 2022.  
22 The final programme and report are contained in  G/SPS/GEN/2015/Rev.1  and G/SPS/R/106 , 
respectively.  G/L/1443  
 
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  The workshop was co mplemented by a "notifications clinic" targeted at SPS notification authorities 
and enquiry points.  
1.16.   Finally, a Thematic Session on International Standards and Best Prac tices in Pest Risk 
Identification, Assessment , and Management23 was held in November 2022 , based on proposal s by 
the European Union.24 The thematic session provide d an opportunity for Members to increase their 
awareness about relevant IPPC standards  and exchange on best practices as well as  challenges 
associated with issues such as identification of pests of phytosanitary concern , performance of pest 
risk analyses , risk mitigation measures , phytosanitary certification and/or import conditions , and  
IPPC standards on risk management.    
1.17.   In addition to these activities, s everal side events were organized at the margin of the 
SPS Committee meetings. These  included:  an STDF event , in partnership with Canada and France, 
on strengthening SPS capacity in French -speaking African countries; a Secretariat -led event to 
provide an  overview of the  new ePing SPS&TBT Platform ; an event  organized by Uganda  and the 
United States on Responding to Fall Armyworm Integrated Pest Management and Policy Approaches, 
which included an update on the current status of fall armyworm, particularly in East  Africa, and an 
overview of ongoing policy approaches ; and an event  organized by the WBG International Finance 
Corporation (IFC)  to present the IFC Scan Guide  and IFC Food Safety Handbook . 
1.18.   The SPS Committee tentatively agreed to hold regular meetings on 22 -24 March, 28 -30 Jun e, 
and 15 -17 November 2023.25 
__________  
 
23 The final programme is contained  in document  G/SPS/GEN/2069/Rev.1 . 
24 G/SPS/GEN/1951 and revisions . 
25 G/SPS/GEN/2036 .