G/SPS/GEN/1593  
 
18 December 2017  
(17-7075) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
 
THEMATIC SESSION ON PEST -FREE AREAS  
27 FEBRUARY 2018  
PROPOSAL BY THE UNITED STATES OF AME RICA 
The following communication, received on 1 5 December 2017, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of  the United States of America . 
 
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1  BACKGROUND  
1.1.  Following an oral proposal of the United States, the SPS Committee at its meeting of 
2-3 November 2017 agreed to organize a thematic session on p est-free areas to be held on 
27 February 2018 on the margins of the next SPS Committee meeting. T he Committee also 
requested that the United States submit a written proposal for distribution to Members.  
2  SCOPE OF THE MEETING  
2.1.  Article 6 of the SPS Agreement outlines Member obligations on Adaptation to Regi onal 
Conditions, including pest -free areas, when establishing SPS measures. There are obligations for 
both importing and exporting countries. In 2008 the SPS Committee adopted guidelines on the 
practical implementation of Article 6 in document G/SPS/48 of 16 May 2008.  
2.2.  The concept of pest -free areas is fu ndamental to ensure the safety of plants and plant 
products in international trade, and to facilitate trade. All WTO Members are impacted by 
outbreaks of plant diseases and pests. Managing the consequences for trade of these outbreaks is 
therefore a matter  of general interest, yet the concept of pest -free areas for plants and plant 
products has not been as thoroughly discussed in the Committee as the concept of regionalization 
relating to animal health.  
2.3.  This thematic session wi ll focus on the concept of pes t-free areas as covered by Article 6 of 
the SPS Agreement and the relevant SPS Committee guidelines, with an emphasis on practical 
experience on the establishment and maintenance of such pest -free areas.  
3  OBJECTIVE OF THE THE MATIC SESSION  
3.1.  The thematic sessi on will provide an opportunity for WTO Members to increase their 
awareness of the international IPPC standard for pest -free areas, and share practical experiences 
about the challenges and benefits of implementing pest -free areas in practice. This, in turn,  should 
contribute to building confidence among trading partners when recognizing or se eking recognition 
of their pest -free areas.  
3.2.  It is proposed that the meeting provide a discussion on pest -free areas from the perspective 
of an importing as well as an ex porting party.  
3.3.  In order for the meeting to be most helpful the active participation from a broad range of 
Members will be important.  G/SPS/GEN/1593  
 
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  4  OUTLINE OF THE PROGR AMME  
4.1.  The meeting would consist of presentations by officials and experts from WTO, IPPC, one or 
more re gional plant protection organizations (RPPO) and Member s, followed by questions from 
Delegates. The meeting would conclude with a general discussion. It could be organized in three 
sessions as follows:  
4.1  International rules and guidelines  
 Provisions of the S PS Agreement on pest -free areas and relevant guidelines;  
 Relevant jurisprudence on pest -free areas (Article 6);  
 IPPC standar ds on the establishment of pest -free areas (ISPM 4).  
4.2  Sharing of regional, international and national experiences  
 Experiences of regional plant protection organizations (RPPOs);  
 Experiences of relevant international organizations;  
 Experiences  of Members in recognizing pest -free areas of exporting countries or getting 
recog nition by other Members of pest -free areas in their own terri tory. 
4.3  General discussion  
5  NEXT STEPS  
5.1.  The United States suggests that this proposal be circulated to all Members for comments. 
At the same time, Members should be invited to signal their willingness to present their 
experiences in the thematic session so tha t a draft program me can be prepared well in advance of 
the meeting.  
 
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