G/SPS/GEN/1471  
1 March 2016  
(16-1225)  Page: 1/4  
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 TH E INTER-AMERICAN INSTITUTE 
FOR COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA) 
The following communication, received on 26 February 2016, is being circulated at the request 
of the IICA. 
 
_______________ 
  
The observer organizations of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports on the activities 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 it considers relevant to the work of this Committee. 
1  EFFORTS TO MAKE GREATER USE OF MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL FORUMS 
1.1  World Trade Organization 
1.1.  Trade Facilitation Forum: A technical fo rum, attended by experts from the World Trade 
Organization (WTO), was organized to give participants an overview of the importance, aspects and content of the Agreement on Trade Facilitation, its relationship to the Agreement on the 
Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and, by using electronic certification as a 
practical example, to show how the Agreement on Trade Facilitation is implemented. There were 341 different connection points in Spanish and 132 in English. Some of these were through our 
IICA offices in countries where five to ten persons participated (depending on the country) in each 
office. 
1.2  Codex Alimentarius 
1.2.  Twinning programme: The IICA is currently  conducting a Codex twinning programme, the 
objective being to boost cooperation among countries in the Americas and thereby improve the situation as regards the regulatory framework, build institutional and technical capacity and strengthen participation in this forum. In December, Ecuador organized an event under this 
programme to associate academic circles in Codex Alimentarius activities so as to generate more 
and better scientific information needed for the various Codex Alimentarius procedures and also raise the technical and scientific quality of country  positions. Chile was the cooperating country for 
this activity. 
1.3.   In February, also under this programme, there was a twinning event between the Bahamas 
and Canada, with the objective of promoting the development and harmonization of the regulatory 
framework in the Bahamas in respect of veterinary drug residues and strengthening the 
institutional framework of the Codex technical sub-committee on residues of veterinary drugs. 
1.4.  In Antigua and Barbuda and Dominica, during  the week of 14 to 18 March, there was another 
twinning programme with the collaboration of Chile and Costa Rica. These two activities were 
aimed at building institutional capacity as regards the Codex Alimentarius and political positioning 
vis-à-vis decision-makers. G/SPS/GEN/1471 
- 2 - 
  1.5.  Programme to develop Codex Alimentarius-rel ated priorities: The IICA is implementing this 
programme in order to create a process with the various Codex actors for identifying priorities that can help countries to focus resources on strategic Codex Alimentarius-related issues of major interest to their sectors. In October and No vember, activities under this programme were 
conducted in El Salvador and Honduras, with Paraguay to follow. 
1.6.  Codex Colloquium Programme: Codex colloquiums are events which bring together a large 
number of countries in the Americas to discuss matters on the agenda of the Codex Alimentarius 
Committees. Two colloquiums were held in March. In the first week of March, 19 Latin American 
and Caribbean countries convened in Mexico to review the work of the Committees on Food 
Additives and Contaminants and Pesticide Residues , and in the last week 33 Latin American and 
Caribbean countries met in Atlanta, United States, together with African countries, to discuss 
matters relating to the Committee on General Principles. 
1.7.  Participation programme: This programme is a competitive fund to facilitate participation by 
some five countries in selected committees. It has recently provided support for the Committees 
on Food Hygiene, Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Uses, Food Import and Export Inspection 
and Certification Systems and shortly for those on Contaminants in Foods and General Principles. 
1.8.  Programme to support institutional strengthening in Codex Alimentarius in Caribbean 
countries: In January, the Chilean Agency for Food Safety and Quality (ACHIPIA), together with 
the IICA and with financial support from the USDA, held a planning and coordination event to endorse a programme that will support institutional strengthening in five Caribbean countries: Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana, Suriname and Saint Lucia. 
1.9.  These activities benefited from the financial support of the United States Department of 
Agriculture, Canada and the IICA's own resources. In addition, they were or will be supported by officials from Latin American and Caribbean countries. 
1.10.  As part of the participation programme and the EU-CARIFORUM SPS Project, support was 
provided for the participation of Caribbean countries in meetings of the Committees on Food Hygiene, Nutrition and Foods for Special Dietary Us es, and Food Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification Systems. 
1.11.  On 14 December, a technical forum was held on "Priority issues for the Codex Committee on 
Residues of Veterinary Drugs". It was attended by experts from Chile and the United States. Over 57 connections were recorded during the transmission of this event. 
1.3  27
th Technical Consultation among Region al Plant Protection Organizations 
1.12.  The IICA took part in the 27th Technical Consultation among Regional Plant Protection 
Organizations, held by the IPPC from 2 to 6 No vember 2015, in Memphis, United States. The IICA 
coordinated the meeting of the Inter-American Group for Coordination on Plant Protection (IGCPP) 
held in connection with the Technical Consultation. 
1.4  Southern Cone Plant Health Committee (COSAVE) 
1.13.  The IICA supported COSAVE's participation in the following IPPC events: Meeting of the 
Bureau (12-16 October, Rome, Italy), Regional Workshop (20-23 October, Lima, Peru), Technical Consultation among Regional Plant Protection Organizations (2-6 November, Memphis, United States), Standards Committee (16-20 November, Rome, Italy) and Technical Panel on the 
Standards Glossary (7-10 December, Rome, Italy). It also collaborated in convening meetings of 
the following Working Groups: Sampling, Inspection and Certification (19-22 October, Foz de Iguazú, Brazil), Biological Control (20-23 October, Santiago, Chile), Health of Propagating 
Materials (3-6 November, Buenos Aires, Argent ina) and the LXXXIVth Meeting of the Steering 
Committee (7-10 December, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil). 
1.5  Southern Cone Standing  Veterinary Committee (CVP) 
1.14.  The IICA supported the CVP's participation in the ENDESA meeting (19-23 October, 
Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil) and the conven ing of the IInd Regular Meeting of the CVP G/SPS/GEN/1471 
- 3 - 
  (21 October, Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brazil) and of th e IVth Meeting of the F ood Safety Group of the 
CVP (27 and 28 October, Rio de Janeiro, Braz il). Likewise, within the framework of the 
IICA-CAS/CVP Agreement, on 11 and 12 November, a symposium was held in Montevideo, Uruguay, on "Strategies for Mitigating the Risk o f  E .  c o l i  ( S T E C ) " ,  w i t h  t h e  a i m  o f  e x a m i n i n g  
alternative strategies capable of being adapte d for implementation in the CVP region. The 
symposium was attended by around 80 officials from government veterinary services, the private sector, producers and industry from countries with in the CVP region, together with participants 
from academia. 
2  SUPPORT FOR STRENGTHENING THE INSTITUTIONAL, TECHNICAL AND REGULATORY 
FRAMEWORK 
2.1.  In January and February, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) 
conducted a series of technical missions in Jamaica, Belize, Trinidad and Tobago and the 
Dominican Republic in order to share knowledge on  the use of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents 
in various animal production systems. These missions involved technical and high-level personnel 
from the Ministries of Agriculture and Health , and the private sector in all the countries. 
2.2.  The initiatives formed part of the Sanitary  and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures project, which 
receives support from the 10th European Development Fund, under the programme "Support to 
CARIFORUM States in the Implementation of the Commitments Undertaken under the 
CARIFORUM-European Union (EU) Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA): Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures", which is implemented by the IICA with support from the European Union. 
2.3.  This initiative was developed on the basis of the specific needs identified by the region, 
in collaboration with the College of Veterinary  Medicine of Ohio State University (OSU). 
2.4.  As part of these efforts, between June and December 2015, 27 professionals from 
15 CARIFORUM countries gained better knowledge of the use of antimicrobial agents and their 
resistance in agriculture. The training was specifically designed for veterinarians, epidemiologists, experts in diagnostics and other public health professionals in Caribbean countries. 
2.5.  One of the most important results of the pr oject has been the development of a pilot project, 
to be implemented in various countries as a first step towards the establishment of a regional system to monitor resistance to antimicrobial agents in the Caribbean. 
2.6.  Workshop on the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA).  In order to become better 
acquainted with the rules in the FSMA, as well as the proposed regulations currently being 
approved, and thus enable the export sector to respond satisfactorily to the new requirements and facilitate access to or maintain its position in  the United States market, on 10 and 11 December, 
the IICA held a workshop in Managua, Nicaragua, on "Requirements for the export of food to the 
United States market – Approach of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA)", which was attended by 143 representatives of the sectors concerned: producers, exporters to the 
United States and government authorities. 
2.7.  One Health Leadership Series.  The third module in the One Health Leadership Series was 
held in Georgetown, Guyana, from 12 to 16 Janua ry. The module addressed sanitary and health 
matters and its purpose was to continue training a group of regional leaders so that they can 
advocate the concept of "One Health" and apply it in activities that seek to prevent, treat or 
eradicate health problems. Forty representatives from all Caribbean countries took part. 
2.8.  Guidebook of Animal Health Programmes.  On 10 December, the Guidebook of Animal 
Health Programmes was endorsed in Asunción, Para guay. Representatives of the National Animal 
Quality and Health Service (SENACSA) and the IIC A took part, and the event brought together a 
total of 30 participants. As a result, SENACSA reiterated its interest in applying the guidebook in 
its programmes. G/SPS/GEN/1471 
- 4 - 
  2.9.  IICA/GMA: Food Safety Webinars.  On 27 October, a series of webinars organized by the 
IICA and the GMA was launched under the title: "Observations and Standards in the US on Food Safety", with the aim of communicating some important aspects of the new standards stipulated by the FSMA and their impact on the export of  agricultural products, food and beverages, 
in international trade between Latin America and the United States. 
Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) 
Agricultural Health and Food Safety 
http://www.iica.int 
 
__________