G/SPS/GEN/1613/Rev.1  
 
22 June 2018  
(18-3960) Page: 1/4 
Committee on  Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
SPS COMMITTEE THEMAT IC WORKSHOP  ON CONTROL, INSPECTION  
AND APPROVAL PROCEDU RES (ANNEX C)  
MONDAY , 9 JULY – TUESDAY, 10 JULY  2018  
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA  
PROGRAMME  
Note by the Secretariat1 
Revision  
 
1.  The Secretariat of the World Trade Organization is organizing a workshop on control, inspection 
and approval procedures  to be held in Geneva, Switzerland on Monday, 9 July and Tuesday, 
10 July 2018. The workshop will be followed by informal and formal meetings of the SPS 
Committee during the same week. Representatives of Members, Observers and Observer 
Organizations are all invited to participate in the workshop, as well as the subsequent meetings of 
the Committee from 11 to 13 July 2018. 
2.  Document s G/SPS/GEN/997/Rev. 8 and G/SPS/GEN/997/Rev. 8/Add.1  provide information on 
the workshop. The WTO, with the financial assistance of the Doha Development Agenda Global 
Trust Fund (DDAGTF), is sponsoring the participation of approximately 40 government officials 
from developing country Members and Observers in the workshop. The Secretariat has selected 
participants to be sponsored among applications from government officials in char ge of the 
implementation of the  SPS Agreement.  
3.  The w orkshop wi ll provide a forum for discussion and experience sharing on developments, 
challenges and practices in implementing Article 8 and Annex C  of the SPS Agreement on control, 
inspection and approval procedures.2 Through presentations, practical cas e stories and  
discussions, the w orkshop will aim to expand Members' understanding of the relevant provisions, 
jurisprudence, guidance from the internationa l standard -setting bodies , as well as regional and 
national experiences.  
4.  This revised version of the programme takes into account Members' comments received by 
21 May 2018 . 
 
                                                
1 This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO.  
2 The workshop will present an opportunity to bu ild on the discussions held on control, inspection and 
approval procedures in the context of the Third Re view of the SPS Agreement as included in the adopted report 
G/SPS/53 of 3 May 2010.  G/SPS/GEN/1613/Rev.1  
 
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  MONDAY, 9 JULY 2018 (10:00–18:00) 
10:00–10:15  
Opening remarks by Mr Marcial Espínola Ramirez , Chair man of the SPS Committee  
Overview of t he workshop and its objectives  
10:15–12:00  
Session 1: Overview of the International Framework  
Part I: Overview of Annex C  provisions , related jurisprudence  and relationship with the Trade 
Facilitation Agreement  
Speaker s: Mr Rolando Alcala  and Mr Roy Santana , WTO Secretariat  
Part II: Overview of relevant work  in the Three  Sisters  
Speakers:  
 Mr Patrick Sekitoleko , Codex  
 Ms Ann Backhouse , OIE  
 Ms Ketevan Lomsadze , IPPC 
12:00–13:00  
Session 2: The Rationale behind Annex C  
This session will discuss the economic rationale for strengthening the implementation of Annex C 
in order to reduce trade transaction costs. Reference will be made to studies, surveys and other 
tools to analyze the impact of regulations on t raders.  
Speaker s:  
 Mr Erich Kieck , World Bank    
 Mr Shawn Arita , Economist, Office of the Chief Economist of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture: SPS measures and trade - Assessment, measurement, and i mpact  
13:00–15:00            Lunch Break  
15:00–17:45  
Session 3: Implementation of Annex  C 
Part I: Opportunities to improve the implementation of Annex C  
Speaker s:  
 Ms Martha Byanyima , COMESA: Journey of an agri -food product in intra -regional trade, 
with a focus on trade transactions and Annex C procedures   
 Ms Marlynne  Hopper , STDF Secretariat: Experiences and lessons from STDF's work on 
facilitating safe trade  
Discussants : 
 Ms Alejandra Estrada , Veterinarian, Agricultural and Livestock Service, Chile  
 Ms Andrea  Bravo , Veterinarian , SENASA, Argentina  G/SPS/GEN/1613/Rev.1  
 
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  TUESDAY, 10 JULY 2018 (10:00 -18:00)  Part II: Sharing  of Members' experiences  
Speakers:  
 Mr John Mc Evoy , Head of Unit, Directorate General for Health and Food Safety, European 
Commission, European Union: The EU approach to systems -based a udits 
 Mr Linye Cong , Deputy Director , General Administration of Customs , China:  China's 
reforms in the inspection and supervision s ystem s for food i mport s 
 Mr Mark A. Abdoo , Acting Deputy Commissioner fo r Global Operations and Policy,  US 
Food and Drug Administration , United States : US Food and Drug Administration – Risk-
based import p rocedure s 
17:45 -18:00  
Closing remarks and wrap -up of day 1  
10:00–10:15  
Opening remarks  
10:15–13:00  
Session 3: Implementation of Annex  C (cont'd)  
Part I I: Sharing  of Members' experiences  
Speaker s:  
 Mr Fred Gorrell , Assistant Deputy Minister, International Affairs Branch, Canadian Food 
Inspection Agency: Canada’s risk -based approach to i nspection s 
 Mr Kenneth Msiska , Principal Agriculture Research Officer, Zambia Agriculture Research 
Institute, Ministry of Agriculture, Zambia: Implementing Ar ticle 8 and Annex C - A Zambian 
perspective  
 Ms Delilah Cabb Ayala , Coordinator, SPS Enquiry Point, Belize Agricultural Health 
Authority : Third party certification - Experiences from Belize  
 Ms Tugba Adiguzel Kargin , EU Expert, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock, 
Turkey: Turkey's experience on i mport s of live animals and animal p roducts  
Session 4: Annex C in the digital wor ld 
Part I: The international framework for SPS e -certification  
Speakers:  
 Ms Ketevan Lomsadze , IPPC: E-phyto and e -commerce  
 Ms Rosine  Uwamariya , UNCTAD: Simplified procedures for obtaining SPS permits, 
Rwanda's c ase 
Discussants : 
 Mr Patrick Sekitoleko,  Codex (CCFICS)  
 Ms Ann Backhouse,  OIE G/SPS/GEN/1613/Rev.1  
 
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__________  13:00–15:00            Lunch Break  
15:00–16:00  
Session 4 : Annex C in the digital world (cont'd)  
Part II: Sharing of Members' experiences in SPS e -certification  
Speaker s:  
 Mr Jay Mitchell , Director for Trade, Europe, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service 
(APHIS), US Department of Agriculture, United States: US experience with i mplementing 
ePhytos: Vision for an improved system of the f uture  
 Mr Philippe Loopuyt , Head of Unit, Directora te General for Health and Food Safety, 
European Commission, European Union: E-certification in the EU  
16:00–17:30  
Session 5: Opportunities to mobilize resources for SPS capacity building to support the 
implementation of Annex C  
Roundtable : 
 Ms Sheri Rosenow , Trade  Facilitation Agreement Facility, WTO   
 Mr Pierre Bonthonneau and Ms Ludovica Ghizzoni , Trade Facilitation and Quality for 
Trade Programme, ITC  
 Mr Erich Kieck , Trade Facilitation Support Program, World Bank  
 Ms Pamela Ugaz , UNCTAD  
 Ms Milena Budimirovic , WCO  
17:30–18:00  
Session 6: Conclusions