. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/L/1013 
15 November 2012 
 (12-6267) 
  
  
 
REPORT (2012) ON THE ACTIV ITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
 
 
1. The present report is being circulated by the Chairperson of the Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures on her own responsibility.  This report provides a summary of the activities 
and decisions of the Committee during 2012. 
2. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Committee") held three 
regular meetings in 2012:  27-28 March, 10-11 July , and 18-19 October.  At the meeting in March, 
Ms Miriam Chaves (Argentina) was elected as the interim chairperson to replace Mr Deny Kurnia, 
who had returned to Indonesia at the end of 2011.   Ms Maria Araceli Albarece (Philippines) was 
elected as chairperson for 2012-13 by the Committee at its July meeting.  
3. At each meeting, Members provided information regarding changes in their SPS policies and 
situations, including with respect to food safety emergencies or pest- or disease-outbreaks.  The SPS Committee also considered a wide range of speci fic trade concerns.  Sixteen new specific trade 
concerns were raised during 2012;  many previously  raised concerns were discussed again.  The new 
issues raised included,  inter alia , Indonesia's closure of certain ports of entry;  China's testing 
measures for food additives;  US measures on fresh lemon imports;  modifications of the EU testing procedures for pesticide residues;  Japan’s rejection of shrimp consignments due to certain residues;  
and Russia's import ban on live animals.  One of the sixteen new STCs was reported resolved in October 2012;  this related to Chinese Taipei's maxi mum residue levels (MRLs) for ochratoxin A in 
roasted and powdered coffee. In July, Costa Rica 's trade concern relating the US prohibition of 
ornamental plants larger than 18 inches was reported to have been resolved.  
4. With regard to the relevant international st andards and the international standards-setting 
bodies (ISSBs), the Committee considered two submi ssions from Members.  Argentina, Australia, 
Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ne w Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines and the 
United States, enunciated the need to strengthen confidence in the C odex, IPPC and OIE, and to use 
their standards, guidelines and recommendations as a basis for Members' measures.
1  The second 
submission, from Chile and the United States2, encouraged Members to c onsult with the ISSBs for 
assistance in the application of international sta ndards, guidelines, and recommendations in cases of 
discrepancies;  refer to guidelines by the ISSBs in developing their own risk analysis processes for 
their SPS measures;  and encourage the ISSBs to a dd advice and counsel when specific trade concerns 
arise regarding Codex, IPPC or OIE sta ndards, guidelines or recommendations.   
5. At each of the Committee's meetings, Members,  Observer Organizations and the Secretariat 
provided information on their respective SPS-re lated technical assistance activities, and the 
Secretariat kept the Committee informed of the work of the Standards and Trade Development 
Facility (STDF).  Pakistan used this opportunity to identify a need for technical assistance/co-
operation for stem rust disease, a potential threat for wheat growing countries.  
                                                      
1 G/SPS/GEN/1143/Rev.2. 
2 G/SPS/W267. G/L/1013 
Page 2  
 
  6. At each of the Committee's meetings, the SPS Committee examined the operation of the 
transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement, no ting that an increasing number of Members are 
submitting SPS notifications, and the number of notifi cations is trending upwards.  A growing number 
of Members are also making use of the new SPS Notification Submission System (NSS) to submit 
SPS notifications on-line, since it became  operational at the beginning of 2012. 
7. The Secretariat organized a workshop on the transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement 
on 15-16 October 2012.  The WTO Global Trust Fund financed the participation of 52 officials from developing and least-developed country Members and Observers with direct responsibility as SPS 
national notification authorities and enquiry points.  The workshop provided interactive, "hands-on" 
training on the use of the SPS Information Management System (SPS-IMS) and on the NSS.  
Representatives from the Codex, IPPC and OIE also provided information on their online information 
tools. 
8. The issue of special and differential treatme nt is on the agenda of each SPS Committee 
meeting.  At the October meeting, the Secretariat provided an update on the status of discussions in 
the Committee on Trade and Development Special S ession with respect to Articles 10.2 and 10.3 of 
the SPS Agreement. 
9. The SPS Committee continued to address some issues arising from the periodic reviews of the 
operation and implementation of the SPS Agreement.  An informal working group was established to 
advance work, through electronic and physical exchanges, on guidelines to facilitate the 
implementation of Article 12.2 of the SPS Agreemen t on "ad hoc consultations  and negotiations" to 
resolve specific trade concerns.
3  The Committee also considered a proposed revision to the procedure 
to monitor the use of international standards4;  further encouragement of joint work by the WTO, 
Codex, IPPC and OIE on cross-cutting issues;  a nd recommendations to improve SPS coordination at 
the national and regional levels.  The Committee continued to discuss the effects of SPS-related 
private standards on trade, on the basis of th e actions agreed by the Committee (G/SPS/55).  
Discussions focussed in particular on the developmen t of a working definition of SPS-related private 
standards.5  
10. The SPS Committee maintained its close working relationship with the Codex, IPPC, and the 
OIE (often referred to as the "Three Sisters" organizations) and received regular updates on their activities.  Other observer organizations also provided information on their activities, including technical assistance activities. 
11. In light of the growing number of requests for observer status, the Committee decided to 
reflect on its criteria and the current procedure for granting observer status.  Meanwhile in the July 
meeting the Committee agreed to grant observer stat us, on an ad hoc, meeting-by-meeting basis, to 
the African Union (AU), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern African States (COMESA), 
the Economic Community of Central African St ates (ECCAS/CEEAC), and the Gulf Cooperation 
Council Standardization Organization (GSO).  The Co mmittee agreed to invite the organizations with 
ad hoc observer status to participate in all of the SPS Committee meetings in 2013. 
12. The SPS Committee has tentatively agreed to  hold regular meetings on 21-22 March,  
27-28 June and 9-10 October 2013. 
_________  
 
                                                      
3 G/SPS/W/259/Rev.4. 
4 G/SPS/W/268. 
5 G/SPS/W/265/Rev.2.