G/L/1508  
G/SPS/69  
 
31 October  2023 
(23-7345) Page: 1/7 
Council for Trade in Goods  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
  
REPORT  ON IMPROVEMENTS IN THE FUNCTIONING OF THE   
COMMITTEE  ON SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
REPORT TO THE COUNCIL FOR TRADE IN GOODS BY  
THE CHAIRPERSON  OF THE SPS COMMITTEE  
1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  The following report is being submitted by the Chairperson of the Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee), Mr Tayutic Mena Retana, under his own responsibility, at 
the request of the Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Goods  (CTG).1 The report was prepared 
with the assistance of the Secretariat.  
1.2.  Following the CTG meeting on 30 June  2023, the Chairs of the CTG subsidiary bodies were 
requested to produce written reports , by the first week of November  2023,  summarizing the 
discussions in their committees and describing the improvements they had agreed on .2  
1.3.  A previous report was submitted i n December 2022  on the "current functioning " of the SPS 
Committee in document G/L/1476  (G/SPS/65 ), by the former Chairperson Mr Tang -Kai Wang, also 
at the request of the CTG Chair. A full list of the previou s reports submitted by the Chairs of CTG 
subsidiary bodies is available in JOB/CTG/19/Rev.2 . These reports were  subsequently compiled by 
the Secretariat in a matrix ( G/C/W/824/Rev.1 ), which describes the status of work prior to the 
discussions.   
1.4.  Further to MC12, the SPS Committee began its dedicated discussions o n the functioning of the 
SPS Committee in November 2022.3 Several Members submitted written proposals on how to 
improve the functioning of the SPS Committee , and/or made suggestions in Committee meetings. 
On 9 March 2023, and following discussions and sug gestions from Members at the CTG, the 
Chairperson of the CTG requested all Chairpersons of the subsidiary to organize discussions 
concerning the functioning of their respective body and taking into account the comparative matrix 
(JOB/CTG/24 ). This communication a lso noted that  subsidiary bodies would  be requested to submit 
a written report to  the CTG describing the  discussions held and improvements introduced  for 
consideration at the last formal meeting of the CTG which was scheduled for 30  November  2023.  
1.5.  This new report covers all improvements introduced in the SPS Committee since the conclusion 
of MC12 in June 2022, following extensive discussions by Members and with a view to better 
responding to their mandate and terms of reference. The report also cont ains information on the 
various meetings and discussions held on the written proposals and suggestions received.  
 
1 JOB/CTG/29  and JOB/CTG/33 .  
2 Additional details o n the description of the process is available in JOB/CTG/33 .  
3 As indicated in G/L/147 6, during the period 2019 to 2020, the SPS Committee also held extensive 
discussions on improving its functioning and processes. This was undertaken within the context of a broader 
initiative launched by the Ottawa Group , and also as part of the Committee's own reflection on its processes 
during  the COVID -19 pandemic .  G/L/1508 • G/SPS/69  
 
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  2  PROCESS AND PROPOSALS  
2.1  Number and type of meetings  
2.1.  Since the conclusion of MC12 in June 2022, the SPS Committee has discussed the functioning 
of the Committee  in seven of its meetings. Table 1  below provides an overview of the date and types 
of these  meetings, as well  as the document symbol s for the corresponding annotated agenda or 
communication from the SPS Committee Chair, and the  Chair summary or summary report of the 
meeting s.  
Table 1: Number of meetings  
Date of meeting  Type of meeting  Agenda/Communication  
from the Chair  Chair Summary/ 
Summary Report  
9 November 2022 (a .m.) Informal  JOB/SPS/24  G/SPS/R/1084 
11 November 2022  Formal  JOB/SPS/23  G/SPS/R/108  
24 March 2023  Formal  JOB/SPS/26  G/SPS/R/109 , 
G/SPS/R/109/Corr.1  
11 May 2023 (a .m.)  Informal  ICN/SPS/2  G/SPS/R/ 1105 
12 July 2023 (a .m.) Informal  JOB/SPS/30  G/SPS/R/ 1106 
14 July 2023  Formal  JOB/SPS/29  G/SPS/R/ 110 
29 September 2023  Informal  ICN/SPS/4  7 
2.2  Proposals submitted by Members and other relevant documents circulated by the 
Secretariat  
2.2.  Members were provided with various opportunities to submit suggestions  on improving the 
functioning of the SPS Committee. More recently, ahead of the July 2023 SPS Committee meeting, 
Members were given  a deadline of Friday 26 May 2023 for the submission of comments or proposal s, 
for discussion at that meeting .  
2.3.  During the pe riod February to June 2023, Members submitted three proposals related to the 
functioning of the SPS Committee. These proposals were either discussed in SPS Committee 
meetings and/or Members' attention drawn to the  relevant documents . Members also made 
additional suggestions orally in Committee meetings. Table 2 below indicates the Members that 
submitted proposals, the corresponding document symbols and the date of circulation  (see 
Section  2.3 for  additional information on the discussions on these proposals) .  
Table 2: Proposals submitted by Members  
Members  Submitted proposal  Date circulated  
Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru 
and Uruguay  JOB/SPS/25/Rev.3  21 June 2023  
India WT/GC/W/874  1 May 2023  
United Kingdom  JOB/CTG/26/Rev.1  11 May 2023  
2.4.  In the informal meeting held on 11 May 2023, t he Secretariat presented its feedback on 
JOB/SPS/25/Rev.28, at the request of a Member , and subsequently circulated its  presentation  as a 
room document . Table 3 below indicates the document symbol  and date of circulation  (see 
Section  2.3 for  additional information) .  
 
4 The Chair summary of the discussions in the informal meeting are available in Annex B.  
5 The Chair summary of the discussions in the informal meeting ar e available in Annex C.  
6 The Chair summary of the discussions in the informal meeting are available in Annex B.  
7 The Chair summary of the discussions in the informal meeting will be made available in the Annex of 
the summary report of the November 2023 Committee meeting.  
8 A third revision (Rev.3) was subsequently circulated, with the addition of some Members.  G/L/1508 • G/SPS/69  
 
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  Table 3: Other relevant documents circulated by the Secretariat  
Other relevant d ocument s Date circulated  
RD/SPS/227  22 June 2023  
2.3  Discussions on the functioning of the SPS Committee and on submitted proposals  
2.5.  The Committee discussions in November 2022 primarily centred on the approach to the 
preparation of the report on the " current functioning " of the SPS Committee9 (G/L/1476  - G/SPS/65 , 
circulated in December 2022 ). However, the discussions in subsequent Committee meetings focused 
on the written proposals submitted by Members, and other oral suggestions provided by Members 
in Committee meetings. In add ition, the Secretariat provided feedback on various 
proposals/suggestions, and updated the Committee on related developments. A summary of these 
discussions is provided in the sections below.  At these meetings, it was noted that the SPS 
Committee regularly  discussed how to improve its practices, including in the context of the reviews, 
and had, in fact, already implemented many of the proposals which had been put forward by 
Members in the context of the CTG and other Committees.  
2.3.1   Proposal submitted by Argen tina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru and 
Uruguay (JOB/SPS/ 25/Rev.3 ) 
2.6.  Ahead of the March  2023 SPS Committee meeting, a group of Members (Argentina, Colombia, 
Ecuador, Paraguay and Uruguay) submitted some suggestions  for the functioning of the CTG and its 
subsidiary bodies  in document JOB/SPS/25/Rev.1 , highlighting that the SPS Committee w as already 
applying most of the suggestions, while noting some areas for improvement. The identified areas 
for improvement included the use of digital tools and eRegistration, as well as the potential 
implementation of a style manual. Further revisions of the document were subsequently circulated 
with the addition of Brazil and Peru.  
2.7.  In the May 2023  intersessional consultations , the Secretariat provided feedback on the 
suggestions in JOB/SPS/25/Rev.1 , in response to a request from a Member in the M arch 2023 
meeting. The Secretariat highlighted areas where the SPS Committee was already implementing 
best practices and also identified areas that could be improved or harmonized, such as the automatic 
alert system linked to the WTO calendar of meetings, alignment of formal meeting practices, and 
eRegistration, noting that some of these were subject to discussions at the CTG level.  
2.8.  In addition, the Secretariat noted some differences between the SPS Committee and other WTO 
bodies, for example in its use of summary reports instead of minutes, which had been discussed in 
the past. The Secretariat's presentation was circulated as room document RD/SPS/227 .  
2.9.  In the May intersessional consultations, Members provided their positive feedback on the 
SPS Committee's leadership in best practices, welcomed plan ned improvements to the 
eRegistration/eDelegate  systems, and suggested harmonization of eAgenda practices as used by 
different WTO bodies. One Member suggested the development of an eAgenda manual and 
integration of eAgenda deadlines into the annotated draft agenda. Another Member requested that 
presen tations be circulated in advance of meetings for more efficient discussions. In response, the 
Secretariat indicated that it would look into the development of a manual for eAgenda, and would 
consult colleagues working on other WTO bodies to discuss the har monization of eAgenda. The 
Secretariat also noted that many presentations were submitted at the last minute, but that those 
received in time could be circulated.   
2.10.  In the July 2023 informal Committee meeting, Members continued discussions on the 
functioning  of the SPS Committee and were invited to provide additional comments and suggestions. 
Several Members took the floor to express their appreciation for being part of a Committee that 
embodied and disseminated best practices to other CTG subsidiary bodies. At the same time, some 
Members noted there was still room for improvement and that being a model Committee was not a 
 
9 This report was prepared by the former Chairperson Mr Tang -Kai Wang with the assistance of the 
Secretariat.  G/L/1508 • G/SPS/69  
 
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  static position. Some Members also indicated their full support for the areas that had previously 
been identified and made further  suggesti ons. 
2.11.  eAgenda and other online tools : In relation to eAgenda, a Member made several 
suggestions , noting the differences across various Committees and advocating for as much 
harmonization as possible. In particular, reference was made to the practice used by  the Market 
Access Committee in uploading reports and statements by the Chair, highlighting that if delegates 
could have access in eAgenda to all of the information provided in a Committee meeting, then 
downloading this information could be comparable to h aving minutes of the meeting. The Member 
noted that the SPS eAgenda facilitated many aspects and further invited the exploration of other 
elements.  
2.12.  One Member made reference to the navigation of STCs in the SPS eAgenda, as compared to 
the TBT eAgenda. Anot her Member suggested to have a sidebar feature to allow for easy navigation 
in the SPS eAgenda to the STC section.  
2.13.  Some Members welcomed the suggested improvements if they would add value and make 
eAgenda more user -friendly, supported the uploading of the Chairperson's report, and agreed that 
it would be useful to copy the good practices of other committees and have the Chairperson's 
summary and Secretariat's interventions also available in eAgenda.  
2.14.  The Secretariat informed the Committee that a draft manual  for eAgenda was under 
development  and that the SPS team was in the process of coordinating with other committees that 
used eAgenda. The Secretariat also noted the varying practices and the different requests made by 
Members across Committees , which had le d to different features in the respective eAgendas . 
However, it was expected that more Committees would start using eAgenda and that greater focus 
would be placed on making it user -friendly. The Secretariat further explained that the TBT eAgenda 
only inclu ded STCs and so its main page only included STCs, while the SPS eAgenda included all 
agenda items for the Committee meeting. However, there had been a request for TBT to include 
additional agenda items in its eAgenda. The Secretariat indicated its willingn ess to consult directly 
with Members on any additional eAgenda queries. In addition, the Secretariat noted that, with 
respect to the inclusion of other types of information in eAgenda, such as the Chair person 's report, 
it had started discussions and was se eing how best to decide on what to include.  
2.15.  The Secretariat provided an update on the eDelegate platform, noting that it had previously 
drawn attention to this platform in the May intersessional consultations. The eDelegate platform was 
a dedicated space o n the WTO website which would allow delegates to have an interface to manage 
their participation in WTO Committees, both for Geneva - and capital -based delegates. In addition, 
it would facilitate the sharing of delegates' contact information, including thei r assignment to WTO 
Committees. The platform would first be rolled out as a simple web -based interface (compatible with 
mobile phones) to be to be further developed based on feedback from users . An information -sharing 
session would be organized by the resp onsible Secretariat team in the future.  
2.3.1   Proposal submitted by India  (WT/GC/W/874 ) 
2.16.  In the informal SPS Committee meeting in July 2023, India drew attention to its proposal in 
document WT/GC/W/874 , circulated in May 2023 to the General Council, which listed 3 0 operational 
improvements to the WTO before the organization complete d 30 years, using the approach of 
"reform by doing". The initiative, dubbed as "30 for 30", proposed incremental changes which were 
doable in an indicative timeframe, and was based on ex tensive consultations with many Members. 
The proposal was not geared towards content reform, but addressed the challenges experienced in 
delegates' daily work.  
2.17.  The proposal had already been discussed in the General Council and was now being pitched 
to the  SPS Committee. In particular, two points were mentioned: (i) the development of a mobile 
productivity application, which India had offered to develop; and (ii) the communication hashtag 
"30 for 30" to broadly communicate the initiative. India noted that m any of the suggestions in the 
document had already been well executed in the SPS Committee, but there remained a few that 
could still be examined, and it looked forward to engaging with other Members to build consensus 
on those areas.  G/L/1508 • G/SPS/69  
 
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  2.3.2   Proposal submitted by the United Kingdom ( JOB/CTG/26/Rev.1 )  
2.18.  The United Kingdom circulated document JOB/CTG/26/Rev.1 , entitled "Compilation of Input 
on the Functioning of Goods Bodies", in the Council for Trade in Goods. Further to the May 2023 
intersessional consultations, the Secretariat followed up to share  this document  via the SPS 
delegates e -mail list, at the request of the UK delegation.  
2.3.3   Other suggestions  on improving the functioning of the SPS Committee  
2.19.  In the July 2023 informal Committee meeting, some Members proposed other suggestions  on 
how to improve the functioning of the SPS Committe e. 
2.20.  STC discussions : One Member made reference to the rigid structure of STC discussions, 
observing that Members presented their concerns via a formal statement and that written replies 
were prepared in advance by the responding Member. In particular, the M ember expressed concerns 
that details of new STCs or new elements in existing STCs were presented in statements without 
sufficient advance communication to responding Members, which meant that targeted specific replies 
could not be provided. The Member fur ther noted that a more mutually beneficial discussion could 
take place with advance communication of information, since it was not always possible to provide 
spontaneous answers.  
2.21.  Some Members supported this suggestion, expressing interest in seeing how bes t to improve 
STC discussions through the provision of advance information on new STCs or new elements in 
previously raised STCs, and exploring minimum information requirements when proposing a new 
STC and timelines to update information before Committee me etings.  
2.22.  Another Member noted that, in its view, the advance submission of written questions to a 
responding Member did not have an impact on the lengthy delays experienced in receiving a reply. 
In response, one Member noted its practice of circulating resp onses to questions and clarified that 
its suggestion to provide advance information referred to new STCs and not to technical exchanges.  
2.23.  Some Members were of the view that while it would be useful, especially in the case of new 
STCs, to have advance inform ation provided, the Committee should avoid being overly prescriptive, 
for example by using deadlines and criteria as a determinant of whether the responding Member 
would reply. This could become an excuse to avoid replying to an STC, if in the responding M ember's 
view, insufficient information had been provided. In addition, the suggested approach could impinge 
on the space for bilateral meetings or become a hindrance to maintaining discussions in the 
Committee and start a shift towards a written exchange o f statements, thereby diminishing the role 
of the Committee as a forum to raise bilateral issues in a multilateral setting. One Member also 
noted that delegates sometimes received last minute instructions which would make it difficult to 
meet pre -establish ed criteria.  
2.24.  Another Member further observed that no rule stopped Members from having bilateral 
meetings and that by the time an issue was raised as an STC, all other options had been exhausted. 
The Member underscored that the provision of advance informat ion, especially for new STCs, was 
important and allowed the STC process to be effective.  
2.25.  In relation to the provision of advance information on STCs, the Secretariat reminded 
Members that the previous deadline for closure of the agenda was 10 days before t he Committee 
meeting, and it had subsequently been changed to 21 days, at the request of Members, to allow for 
the preparation of responses. Members raising a concern were asked to provide an outline of the 
issue to responding Members. In addition, eAgenda  had a tab titled "brief description of measure" 
where Members could provide information on the raised concern, however this feature had not really 
been used by Members.  
2.26.  One Member queried the procedure for raising STCs, requesting clarification on whether  there 
was always an obligation to inform the responding Member of the concern or if raising the STC via 
eAgenda was sufficient. The Secretariat explained that while most STCs were raised via eAgenda, 
the best practice was still to inform the responding Me mber, noting that information on this practice 
was also included in the communication sent to delegates ahead of each Committee meeting. The 
Secretariat also responded to a query regarding the translation of documents, clarifying that the G/L/1508 • G/SPS/69  
 
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  majority of docum ents submitted by Members were made available in the three official WTO 
languages before the start of the meeting. In addition, the Secretariat circulated its documents three 
weeks in advance of Committee meetings to ensure their translation ahead of Commi ttee meetings.  
2.27.  One Member further underscored the importance of having productive engagement and 
interactions with other Members, noting that the SPS Committee (and also the TBT Committee) 
differentiated itself from other committees by the level of engagem ent. Digital tools, such as 
eAgenda, could facilitate the work, however if Members were not constructively engaging with each 
other, then the tools would not be useful. The Member reminded the Committee of the Member -
driven nature of the organization, obse rving that if sufficient information was not available on STCs, 
then each Member had the responsibility to seek clarification in the three weeks leading up to the 
Committee meeting.  
2.28.  Order of agenda items : One Member proposed that the Committee consider res tructuring 
the order of agenda items to have discussions on substantive items before STCs, similar to the 
approach in CTG meetings. The Member further noted that the TBT Committee had already moved 
the discussion on some of its substantive items before the  agenda item on STCs. In response, the 
Secretariat indicated that the order of the agenda could be examined and suggested that an idea 
could be to experiment with changes in the agenda for one meeting, if Members were in agreement.   
2.4  How decisions were adop ted 
2.29.  No formal decisions have been adopted by the Committee  in addition to changes implemented 
before the reporting period. Instead, the Secretariat has implemented changes in consultation with 
Members.  
3  IMPROVEMENTS ON THE FUNCTIONING OF THE COMMITTEE  
3.1.  As a result of these and other discussions, the following six improvements  to the work of the 
SPS Committee have been or will be undertaken  (in addition to the practices that the Committee is 
already implementing) : 
General area  Improvements  in the functioning of the SPS Committee  
A. Assistance to delegates  • Scheduling of p eriodic i ntroductory session s on the SPS 
Committee  for new delegates . Since June 2022, an 
introductory session for delegates was held  on 13 March 2023 , 
and a nother held on 18 September 2023.  
• Leaflet  produced  with relevant information for new SPS 
delegates . 
B. Planning and organization of 
meetings  • No change - the existing practice of planning and organizing 
meetings in advance continues , as well as  the early circulation 
of communications to Members and Observers inform ing them 
of scheduled meetings .10  
C. Conduct of formal meetings  • No change - the existing conduct of formal meetings 
continues. 11 
D. Conduct of informal meetings  • Use of the ICN document symbol for communications 
from the Chairperson to convene  informal meetings . 
Since March 2023, the ICN document symbol has been used 
to convene informal meetings.  
E. Digital tools used by the 
Committee  • Linking of related trade concerns across committees 
currently using the Trade Concerns Database  (including 
the SPS Committee) . 
• Ongoing development of user manual for SPS eAgenda  
• Ongoing efforts to coordinate among WTO Committees 
using eAgenda.  
 
10 Information on the SPS Committee's existing practices in relation to the planning and organization of 
meetings is detailed in G/L/1476 -G/SPS/65 . 
11 Information on the conduct of formal SPS Committee meetings is detailed in G/L/1476 -G/SPS/65 . G/L/1508 • G/SPS/69  
 
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  General area  Improvements  in the functioning of the SPS Committee  
F. Substantive work  • The Committee continues to implement and hone several 
longstanding practices, such as : the organization of thematic 
sessions; the use of thematic/working groups to advance 
work; the preparation of Chair summaries of informal 
meetings; and the use of eAgenda, ePing and the Trade 
Concerns database , to name a few.   
4  NEXT STEPS  
4.1.  The SPS Committe e will continue to identify new practices that will improve its functioning and 
also implement changes to its existing working practices, as it has been doing since its creation.  
4.2.  More specifically, o ne of the areas that is currently being discussed is how to improve the use 
of time in Committee meetings, particularly in relation to specific trade concerns. In this respect, 
the Chairperson and the Secretariat have been disseminating information to Members (in Committee 
meetings12 and also in  the recently held introductory session for new delegates) on the various 
avenues that can be used to share information and facilitate exchanges ahead of Committee 
meetings  with a view to addressing trade issues .  
4.3.  For example, Members have been reminded to  use eAgenda to upload their statements  before 
they are read  (also to facilitate the work of interpret ers), which  more Members have started to use. 
In addition  to oral intervention s, Members can provide extra information in detailed statements 
which can be uploaded to eAgenda, and also submitted as  GEN documents. Members have been 
encouraged to use these avenues, and make shorter oral interventions in the Committee meeting. 
Furthermo re, there has been a specific recognition of space during the SPS Committee week to 
facilitate bilateral  consultations among Members.13  
4.4.  In addition, Members have been invited to share their views, in the upcoming November 
meeting, on a Member's suggestion  for the Committee to consider restructuring the order of agenda 
items for formal meetings , specifically as it relates to having discussions on substantive items before 
specific trade concerns  (see paragraph 2.27 above ). 
4.5.  Another topic under consideration i s the number of outstanding requests for observer status 
which have been pending for several  years .14 The Chairperson has suggested that a communication 
be sent to these observer organizations indicating the  longstanding pending  request s and noting 
that the  Committee would consider it important for them to renew their interest , should they still 
wish their request to be considered. A pertinent timeline would be established for this process.  
4.6.  These are some of the additional practices that are currently being examined to further improve 
the functioning of the SPS Committee , and that will be discussed in the November Committee 
meeting . 
__________  
 
12 More recently discussed in the in formal meeting held on 29 September 2023. The Chair summary of 
this meeting will be made available in the Annex of the summary report of the November 2023 Committee 
meeting.  
13 See paragraph 9 of WTO/AIR/SPS/42 . 
14 List of organizations available in G/SPS/W/78/Rev.15 .