WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
G/SPS/W/259/Rev.4 
14 August 2012 
 (12-4437) 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
PROPOSED RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE 
RELATING TO THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ARTICLE 12.2
1 
 
Revision 
  INTRODUCTION  
1. Article 12.2 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the 
SPS Agreement) states that:  "The Committee shall en courage and facilitate ad  hoc consultations or 
negotiations among Members on specific sanitary or ph ytosanitary issues".  The Working Procedures 
of the Committee, adopted by the Co mmittee in March 1995, provide that: 
"With respect to any matter which has been raised under the Agreement, the 
Chairperson may, at the request of the Members directly concerned, assist them in dealing with the matter in question.  Th e Chairperson shall normally report to the 
Committee on the general outcome with respect to the matter in question."
2 
2. The Committee has recognized the usefulness of Ar ticle 12.2, and in par ticular of the good 
offices of the Chairperson, as a means of facilitating the resolution of trade problems.3 
3. Several Members have submitted proposals for a procedure to facilitate the use of ad hoc 
consultations and negotiations among Members.4 
4. The draft procedure presented in the first ve rsion of this document sought to combine the 
proposals made to date, to facilitate the identificati on and consideration of those areas where there are 
substantive differences among the proposals.  The document was subsequently revised three times to 
reflect comments received from Members and discussions  at informal meetings of the Committee.   
5. For the 9 July 2012 informal meeting of the Committee, the Chairperson invited Members to 
focus on the substance of the procedure, and in pa rticular on five unresolved elements, rather than 
continuing detailed text-based discussions.  At the regular meeting of the SPS Committee on 10-11 
July 2012, the Secretariat was requested to prepare, in consultation with the Ch airperson, the revision 
of the document based on the Chairperson's report of  the informal meeting.  The present revision 
seeks, therefore, to reflect the c onclusions of the Chairperson’s report making use of existing text in 
G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3 to the extent possible.  
6. As indicated at the July meeting, Members' co mments on this draft are to be submitted to the 
Secretariat by 17 September 2012 and will be taken into account in the preparation of a further 
revision of this document for consideration by the Committee at its meetings in October 2012.
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared by the Secretaria t, in consultation with the Chairperson, and is 
without prejudice to the position of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO. 
2 G/SPS/1, paragraph 5. 
3 G/SPS/12, paragraph 24, G/SPS/36, paragraphs 87-88, G/SPS/53, paragraphs 116-126. 
4 G/SPS/W/219; G/SPS/W/227;  G/SPS/W/ 233;  G/SPS/W/248;  G/SPS/W/243/Rev.4;  and Job/SPS/1.  G/SPS/W/259/Rev.4 
Page 2  
 
  RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE TO ENCOURAGE AND FACILITATE  
AD HOC CONSULTATIONS [OR NEGOTIATIONS] AMONG MEMBERS 
ON SPECIFIC SANITARY OR PHYTOSANITARY ISSUES 
 
Proposed Decision by the Committee 
  
The Committee on Sanitary and Phytos anitary Measures ("the Committee"), 
 
Having regard  to paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Agre ement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures ("the Agreement"); 
 Seeking  to further encourage and facilitate ad hoc consultations [or negotia tions] among Members on 
specific sanitary and phytosanitary issues, in acco rdance with the provisions of Article 12.2 of the 
Agreement; 
 
Recalling  that the Working Procedures of the Committ ee permit the Chairperson of the Committee to 
assist Members to deal with any matter which has been raised under the Agreement, upon a request by 
the Members directly concerned;  Noting that the ad hoc consultation mechanism, foreseen  in Article 12.2 of the SPS Agreement and in 
the Working Procedures of the Committee, offers  Members an additional route for dialogue and 
exchange of information on sanitary and phytosanitary concerns;  Recalling  that during the reviews of the operation an d implementation of the Agreement, Members 
recognized the usefulness of application of Arti cle 12.2, and encouraged the use of ad hoc 
consultations, including through the good o ffices of the Chairperson of the Committee; 
 Taking  into account other proposals under discussion in the WTO Negotiating Groups or Committees 
or Councils;  Decides as follows: 
 
  [NOTE:  Title and Preamble based on G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
 
I. GENERAL PROVISIONS 
1. This procedure is intended to encourage and f acilitate ad hoc consulta tions [or negotiations] 
(hereinafter referred to as "consultations") among Members on specific sanitary or phytosanitary 
issues, with a view to assist Members to reac h mutually satisfactory solutions, according to 
Article 12.2 of the Agreement.  Member partic ipation in this procedure is voluntary.   
  [NOTE:  Based on paras. 1, 5 and 6 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
2. This procedure is without prejudice to the existing rights and obligations of Members under 
the Agreement nor any other WTO.   
  [NOTE:  Based on paras. 2 and 7 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
3. This procedure is not intended to prejudice in  any way the process or outcome of the work of 
other WTO bodies, including in relation to the Doha Development Agenda.   
  [NOTE:  No change from para. 3 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.]  G/SPS/W/259/Rev.4 
 Page 3 
 
 
  4. Any Member may at any time request consulta tions regarding any sanitary and phytosanitary 
measure(s) or related technical issue(s) fa lling under the scope of the Agreement.   
  [NOTE:  Based on para. 4 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
II. PROCEDURE FOR ADDRESSING CONC ERNS REGARDING SPS ISSUES 
A. REQUEST FOR CONSULTATIONS  
5. A Member (hereinafter the "requesting Member ") should request consultations with another 
Member (the "responding Member") in writing, in  a WTO working language.  The request should 
identify the measure(s) or technical issue(s) to be consulted on, describe the reasons for requesting 
consultations, and provide a description of the re questing Member's concern regarding the possible 
effects on trade.  Further, the request may provide  any preliminary questions and concerns regarding 
the measure(s) or technical issue(s), and may identif y any relevant provision(s) of the Agreement and 
relevant international standards, guidelines or r ecommendations adopted by the pertinent international 
organizations as referred to in the Agreement.   
  [NOTE:  Based on para. 9 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.]  
6. In addition to sending the request to the r esponding Member, the requesting Member will at 
the same time send a copy of the re quest to the Chairperson of the SPS Committee and the Secretariat.  
The Committee will be informed of the request at the subsequent meeting of the Committee.  If the 
requesting Member wishes, a copy of the request can  also be made available to the SPS Committee as 
a WTO document.   
  [NOTE:  Based on para. 10 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.]  
B. RESPONSE TO A REQUEST  
7. The responding Member should provide a response within 20 days, accepting or rejecting the 
request for consultations, in writing in a WTO langua ge, with a copy to the Chairperson of the SPS 
Committee and the Secretariat.  The Committee will be  informed of the respon se to the request (i.e., 
whether the request was accepted or rejected) at the subsequent meeting of the Committee.  The 
response should normally address the concerns and issues raised in the request.  If this is not 
practicable within 20 days, the responding Member sh all inform the requesting Member of the reasons 
for the delay, together with an estimate of the pe riod within which it will provide its response.     
  [NOTE:  Based on paras. 11 and 12 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3]  
C. CONSULTATION PROCEDURE  
8. Where the responding Member has accepted th e request for consultations, the consulting 
Members may request the Chairperson of the SPS  Committee or the designee thereof to serve as 
facilitator for the consultations (hereinafter the "F acilitator").  If the consu lting Members agree, they 
can request another person to act  as Facilitator.  The consulting Members should set a date for a 
meeting, in coordination with the Facilitator.   
  [NOTE:  Based on para. 13 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3]  
9. The primary role of the Facilitator is to fac ilitate the exchange between the parties.  The 
consulting Members, in consultation with the Fa cilitator, should agree on the parameters of the 
consultations, including, inter alia : G/SPS/W/259/Rev.4 
Page 4  
 
  (a) the schedule and place of meetings; 
(b) whether to request technical advice, and if so, of whom; 
(c) whether the role of the Facilitator shoul d go beyond assisting communication, e.g. 
whether (s)he will be expected to / allowe d to give an opinion or express advice; 
(d) whether third party participation is desirabl e, and if so, in what manner this should 
occur; 
(e) the nature of the report to the Committee; 
(f) which information will be treated as confidential. 
[NOTE:  Based on paras. 8, 14, 15 16, 17 and 19 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
10. The consulting Members should endeavour to comp lete the consultations  within a reasonable 
period of time that should normally not surpass 180 days, unless they agree on a different timeframe.  
Either one or both of the consulting Members may d ecide to conclude the consultations at any time, 
and should do so through written notification to the other consulting Member.  The Member or Members (if acting jointly) will promptly provide  written notification to the Facilitator and the 
Secretariat that the consu ltations have concluded.   
[NOTE:  Based on para. 18 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
11. At the conclusion of the consultations, the F acilitator will report the general outcome of the 
consultations to the Committee in accordance wi th the established Working Procedures of the 
Committee.
1  Further details regarding the outcome of th e consultations will be provided only if so 
requested by both Members.   The report will not contain confidential information unless both consulting Members consent to the inclusion of such information.   
[NOTE:  Based on para. 19 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
III. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE 
12. Developing country Members, and in partic ular least-developed country Members, may 
request assistance from the WTO Secretariat to promote their understanding of the use and 
functioning of these procedures.  
  [NOTE:  No change from para. 20 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
 IV. MONITORING 
13. The Secretariat will monitor the use of this pr ocedure, and, in accord ance with paragraph 8, 
will ensure that the conclusions of these procedures  are reflected in the summary of Specific Trade 
Concerns (G/SPS/GEN/204). 
  [NOTE:  No change from para. 21 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
 
                                                      
1 G/SPS/1, paragraph 6.  G/SPS/W/259/Rev.4 
 Page 5 
 
 
  V. REVIEW AND DURATION 
14. This procedure will be reviewed periodically  and revised as necessary by the Committee in 
light of experience gained through its application. 
  [NOTE:  Based on para. 23 of G/SPS/W/259/Rev.3.] 
 
__________