G/SPS/GEN/1989  
 
31 January  2022 
(22-0773) 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  
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 th e 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 practices with regard to facilitating safe trade. Trad e 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 agricultu ral 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 tran sition 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) , as necessary. The thematic session 
can be attended in perso n2 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  
 
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  Chairperson:  Mr Juteau Déadjufo Toussé  
1  BACKGROUND  
Recent relevant work by the Committee . 
Speaker :  
▪ WTO Secretariat [Speaker TBC]  
Context: the economic case for addressing MRLs and the impacts of risk -based and trade facilitative 
enforcement practices (Member and industry perspectives) . 
Speaker s:  
▪ Ms Su McCluskey , Special Representative for Australian Ag riculture  
▪ Dr Gabriela Ludwig , Almond Board of California  
▪ Dr David Epstein , Northwest Horticultural Council  
▪ Ms Lucy Namu , Senior Principal Analytical Chemist, Trade and Standards Office, Kenya Plant 
Health Inspectorate Service  (KEPHIS)  
Followed by Q&A session  
2  THE ROLE OF THE CODEX ALIMENTARIUS : JMPR AND CCPR  
Perspective and guidance from the Codex Alimentarius . 
Speaker :  
▪ [TBC]  
Followed by Q&A session  
Member experiences harmonizing with Codex MRLs, including as a default ( importing and exporting 
Members) . 
Speaker :  
▪ Ms Hermine Reich , Senior Scientific Officer , European Food Safety Authority . Pesticide 
Codex MRLs and EU risk assessment  
Followed by Q&A session  
3  THE ROLE OF IMPORT TOLERANCES  
APEC Guideline on Setting Import Tolerances . 
Speaker s:  
▪ Mr Steve J. Crossley , Manager , International and Dietary Exposure Assessment, Food 
Standards Australia New Zealand  
▪ Ms Anna Gore , US Department of Agriculture, Foreign Agricultural Service . Leveraging the 
APEC Import MRL Guidelines for Trade Facilitation in ASEAN  
Followed by Q&A session  G/SPS/GEN/1989  
 
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  Member experiences with import tolerances (importing and exporting Members).  
Speaker s:  
▪ Ms Jung Kyunghee , Scientific Officer, Residues and Contaminants Standard Division, 
Ministry of Food and Drug Safety , Kore a 
▪ Mr Eduardo Aylwin , Chilean Food Safety and Quality Agency ( ACHIPIA ) 
Followed by Q&A session  
4  ADDRESSING MRL ENFORCEMENT MEASURES  
Member experiences with limit of detection , and channels of trade/transition periods .  
Speaker s:  
▪ Mr Gord Kurbis , Vice-President Trade Policy , Crop Protection, Canada Grains Council . 
Exporters ' perspectives on pesticide regulations  
▪ Dr Charlotte Liang , Chemist, Office of Food Safety, Center  for Food Safety and Applied 
Nutrition, US Food and Drug Administration  and Ms Dana Friedman , Chief, Risk 
Management and Implementation Branch I, Pesticide Re -evaluation Division, Office of 
Pesticide Programs, US Environmental Protection Agency  
▪ Dr Reinhold  Kugel , Head of Product Safety and Quality Assurance, BarthHass    
▪ [CropLife Latin America – Speaker TBC]  
Followed by Q&A session  
5  CLOSING REMARKS  
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