WT/MIN(22)/27  
WT/L/1138  
 
22 June 2022 
(22-4783) Page: 1/2 
Ministerial Conference  
Twelfth Session  
Geneva, 12-15 June 2022  
  
 
 
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY DECLARATION FOR THE  
TWELFTH WTO MINISTERIAL CONFERENCE: RESPONDING  
TO MODERN SPS CHALLENGES  
MINISTERIAL DECLARATION  
ADOPTED ON 17 JUNE 2022  
1. We recognize that the twelfth WTO Ministerial Conference takes place following the 
25th anniversary of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Agreement) — an opportune point to reflect on the successes achieved since its adoption, and 
to recognize the challenges ahead resulting fr om emerging pressures that may significantly impact 
international trade in food, animals and plants.  
2. We wish to take this opportunity to underline that the SPS  Agreement  and its provisions are 
as relevant and applicable today as they were in 1995, and t hey continue to safeguard the right for 
Members to take measures necessary for the protection of human, animal or plant life or health.  
3. In addition to this, the proper implementation of the SPS  Agreement  by Members supports 
rural livelihoods, facilitate s trade, and supports sustainable agricultural growth. Of particular note to 
these  outcomes are the contributions of the SPS  Agreement 's provisions requiring Members to be 
transparent in taking SPS measures; and that these measures be based on scientific p rinciples, 
applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health, and not be 
maintained without sufficient scientific evidence, including through an assessment of risk, except for 
provisional measures referenced in Article  5.7 of the SPS  Agreement . 
4. We recognize that the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS 
Committee) has been instrumental in advancing the implementation of the SPS  Agreement , 
particularly as it  relates to improving the transparency of SPS measures through increased 
notification among Members. Looking to the future, the SPS Committee will continue to undertake 
valuable work, and Members remain committed to the continued enhancement of the 
implementation of the SPS  Agreeme nt. 
5. We reaffirm the rights and obligations of Members established by the SPS  Agreement  and call 
for Members' strengthened adherence to the SPS  Agreement  to support international trade while 
ensuring the protection of human, animal and plant life or heal th. 
6. The Membership acknowledges that the global agricultural landscape has evolved since the 
adoption of the SPS  Agreement  in 1995. This evolution has brought about a variety of new 
opportunities and emerging challenges for the international trade in fo od, animals and plants, 
including but not limited to:  
- expanding global populations, as well as increased movement of agricultural products to 
address changing population structures and distributions;  
- increased pace of innovation in tools and technologies;  
- climate change and increasing environmental challenges and associated stresses on food 
production;  
- growing importance of sustainable agricultural practices and production systems, including 
their contribution to addressing climate change and biodiversity c onservation;  
- shifting pressures due to the spread of pests, diseases, disease -carrying organisms, or 
disease -causing organisms, increasing threat of antimicrobial resistance for human and WT/MIN(22)/27 • WT/L/1138  
 
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  animal health, as well as emerging infectious diseases linked with t he human -animal -
environment interface, especially zoonoses; and  
- continued application of SPS measures that would constitute a disguised restriction on 
international trade.  
7. To that end, the Ministerial Conference instructs the SPS Committee to further en hance the 
implementation of the SPS  Agreement  in an effort to better manage issues related to international 
trade in food, animals and plants by undertaking a work programme, open to all Members and 
Observers, consisting of new efforts to identify: (1) cha llenges in the implementation of the 
SPS Agreement and the mechanisms available to address them; and (2) the impacts of emerging 
challenges on the application of the SPS  Agreement . 
8. Through the work programme, the Ministerial Conference envisions that th e SPS Committee 
should explore how the implementation and application of the SPS  Agreement  can support the 
following themes, including but not limited to:  
- How to facilitate global food security and more sustainable food systems, including through 
sustainab le growth and innovation in agricultural production and international trade, and 
through the use of international standards, guidelines, and recommendations developed 
by the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the World Organisation for Animal Health and the 
International Plant Protection Convention as the basis of harmonized SPS measures to 
protect human, animal or plant life or health.  
- How to support basing SPS measures on scientific evidence and principles, including where 
international standards, guidelines,  or recommendations do not exist or are not 
appropriate; and how to promote the use by Members of principles employed by the 
international standard setting bodies for considering scientific uncertainty in risk analysis.  
- How to enhance the safe internationa l trade in food, animals and plants and products 
thereof through the adaptation of SPS measures to regional conditions, including pest - or 
disease -free areas and areas of low pest or disease prevalence which can strengthen 
Members' ability to protect plant  and animal life or health through efforts to limit the 
spread of pests such as the Mediterranean fruit fly, diseases such as African swine fever, 
disease -carrying organisms, or disease -causing organisms.  
- How to encourage cooperation with observer organiza tions that support the work of the 
SPS Committee and the international standard setting bodies through technical exchanges 
and assistance in the context of this work programme.  
- How to increase participation of and support for the special needs of developin g and least 
developed country Members in the development and application of SPS measures; and in 
particular, to increase awareness of and sensitivity to the impacts of SPS measures on the 
export possibilities of such Members.  
- Other topics as identified ove r the course of the work programme or as a result of 
emerging sanitary or phytosanitary challenges or risks worldwide.  
9. This work programme does not launch the negotiation of new obligations, nor re -open or 
amend the SPS  Agreement . 
10. The SPS Committee will address the outcomes of this work programme and report on key 
findings and actions undertaken as a result of this work to the thirteenth Ministerial Conference with 
recommendations, as appropriate.  
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