G/SPS/W/281  
 
30 September 2014  
(14-5452)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
SECOND REPORT OF THE CO-STEWARDS OF THE PRIVATE STANDARDS E-WORKING 
GROUP ON ACTION 1 (G/SPS/55) 
SUBMISSION BY THE CO-STEWARDS OF THE E-WORKING GROUP 
The following communication, received on 29 Septem ber 2014, is being circulated at the request 
of China and New Zealand in their capacity as co-stewards of the e-Working Group on private 
standards. 
 
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1  BACKGROUND 
1.  The SPS Committee adopted five actions regarding SPS-related private standards at its 
March 2011 meeting (G/SPS/55). Endorsement of th ese actions was without prejudice to the views 
of Members regarding the scope of the SPS Agreement. 
2.  In adopting Action 1, Members agreed to de velop a working definition of SPS-related private 
standards ("The SPS Committee should develop a working definition of SPS-related private 
standards and limit any discussions to these"). 
3.  At the October 2013 meeting of the SPS Committee, Members agreed to establish an 
"electronic working group" (e-WG), led by China and New Zealand as "co-stewards", to develop a 
compromise working definition of an SPS-relate d private standard. As consensus was not reached 
by the e-WG on language for a working definition, the co-stewards provided on their own 
responsibility in G/SPS/W/276 a proposed working definition for consideration at the March 2014 meeting of the SPS Committee. The proposed working definition was: 
"An SPS-related private standard is: a written requirement or a set of written 
requirements of a non-governmental enti ty which are related to food safety, 
animal or plant life or health and for common and repeated use." 
(Optional footnote : "This working definition or any part of it shall be without 
prejudice to the rights and obligations of Members under the WTO Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures or the views of Members on the scope of this Agreement.") 
4.  Consensus was not reached on the working definition at the March 2014 meeting, and the SPS 
Committee requested that the Secretariat research existing definitions of private standards from other international organisations. The resulting document, G/SPS/GEN/1334, was discussed at the 
July 2014 meeting and subsequently revised to include three additional definitions. 
5.  The SPS Committee agreed that the e-WG pursue its discussion of a working definition of 
SPS-related private standards and do so based on the working definition tabled by the e-WG 
co-stewards contained in document G/SPS/W/276. In that regard, it was agreed that: 
a. Members should submit by 5 September 2014 to the co-stewards of the e-WG, through 
the Secretariat, any comments they may have on the co-stewards' draft working definition and regarding elements of other existing definitions that could be incorporated 
into the co-stewards' working definition; and G/SPS/W/281 
 
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  b. The e-WG should circulate its report on a compromise working definition of an 
SPS-related private standard to the Committee no later than the end of September, for 
consideration at the SPS Committee meeting scheduled for 16-17 October 2014. 
2  CONSIDERATION BY THE E-WG CO-STEWARDS OF MEMBERS' COMMENTS RECEIVED 
BY 5 SEPTEMBER 
6.  Comments were received, by the 5 September 2014 deadline, from 10 members of the e-WG 
(Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Canada, China, the European Union, Japan, and 
the United States) and from Cuba. 
7.  Comments received from Members by 5 September included: 
a. … a written requirement(s) or condition(s)  …: Some Members reaffirmed their support 
for the use of the word "requirements", while others proposed using the word 
"conditions". 
b. … of a non-governmental entity and is not applied under the exercise of governmental 
authority …: A number of Members noted that the term "non-governmental entities" is 
used in the OIE and Codex definitions, while a number of other Members remained 
concerned that this term was ambiguous and preferred "is not applied under the exercise of governmental authority". 
c. … which are for common and repeated use in commercial transactions  ...: There was  
general support for including the term "for common and repeated use" and one Member 
suggested adding "in commercial transactions". 
d. … which are related to food safety, animal or plant life or health …:  There was general 
support for the term "related to food sa fety, animal or plant life or health". 
e. Footnote : There were mixed views as to whether the footnote should be included with 
the working definition, with some Members flexible to its inclusion, some opposing it 
saying it was not necessary, and others supporting it on the grounds of clarity. 
8.  The co-stewards carefully considered the views expressed by the submitting Members and 
proposed the following revised working definition as a result of the comments provided: 
"An SPS-related private standard is: a wr itten requirement(s)  or condition(s) 
of a non-governmental entity and not applied under the exercise of 
governmental authority, which are for common and repeated use in commercial transactions and which are rela ted to food safety, animal or plant 
life or health." 
9.  The co-stewards proposed that rather than a footnote, there be a statement in the decision 
document that the definition is a working definiti on of an SPS-related private standard, is without 
prejudice to the rights and obligations of Member s, and does not represent any views of Members 
on the scope of the Agreement with respect to private standards. 
10.  Comments were requested from the e-WG by 24 September 2014. 
3  SUMMARY OF E-WG COMMENT S RECEIVED BY 24 SEPTEMBER 
11.  Comments were received on 24 September from: Argentina, Australia, Belize, Brazil, Burkina 
Faso, Canada, the European Union, Japan and the United States. There was no consensus regarding acceptance of the co-stewards' suggested working definition. 
12.  Comments on the proposed working definition included: 
a. Instead of parenthetical "s" the definition should revert to the language: … a set of  … G/SPS/W/281 
 
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  b. Replace … which are for common and repeated use  … with … that may be used  … 
because the requirement/condition is not necessarily for common or repeated use (a 
term used under the TBT Agreement). This change would also more accurately reflect the de jure  "voluntary" nature of the standards (as opposed to any official status). 
c. Move … applied by  … to immediately before the term … non-government entity  … to 
clarify who is doing the "applying". (This also eliminates the ambiguity represented by 
the "of a"  prepositional phrase in front of "non-governmental entity" .) 
d. … not exercising governmental authority …  This wording enables the on-going inclusion 
of "non-governmental entities" (requested by  some e-WG members) but by clarifying 
what it means, removes much of the ambiguity that is of concern to some other e-WG members. 
e. Move … related to food safety…  nearer to the start of the sentence to make it clear that 
it is the requirements or conditions, rather than the commercial transaction, which relate 
to food safety. 
13.  There was no consensus on whether to include the footnote or to incorporate those 
statements in the decision document. 
14.  Canada suggested specific amendments to the working definition for improved clarification. 
The co-stewards considered all comments received and have based the following revised working 
definition on those suggested modifications. Howe ver, due to time constraints, the co-stewards 
were unable to consult with the e-WG on this revised working definition. 
4  PROPOSED WORKING DEFINITION AS  REVISED BY THE E-WG CO-STEWARDS 
15.  The co-stewards suggest a new working definition for consideration by the SPS Committee: 
"An SPS-related private standard is: A wr itten requirement or  condition, or a 
set of written requirements or conditions , related to food safety, or animal or 
plant life or health that may be used in commercial transactions and that is 
applied by a non-governmental entity that is not exercising governmental 
authority." 
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