G/L/1039  
 
4 September 2013  
(13-4666) Page: 1/2 
   
 
 REPORT (2013) ON THE  ACTIVITIES OF THE CO MMITTEE ON  
SANITARY AND PHYTOSA NITARY 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 su mmary of the activities 
and decisions of the Committee from January through June  of 2013.  
2.  The Committee  on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Committee") h eld regular 
meetings on 21-22 March and 27 -28 June1, and a third regular meeting is schedu led for 
16-18 October  2013. Ms Maria Araceli Albarece (Philippines) was re-elected as chairperson for 
2013-14 by the Committee at its Ju ne 2013 meeting . 
3.  At the March and June  meeting s, Members provided information regarding changes in their SPS 
policies an d situations , including with respect to food safety emergencies and pest - or disease -
outbreaks . The SPS Committee also considered a wide range of specific trade concerns. Ten new 
specific trade concerns were raised during the March and June meetings ; many previously raised 
concerns were discussed  again . The new issues raised  included , inter alia , EU temperature 
treatment requirements on processed meat products; China's import conditions related to 
phthalates ; France's ban on bisphenol A (BPA); India’s i mport restrictions on apples, pears and 
citrus ; EU phytosanitary requirements on pine trees from Russia , orchid plantlets from 
Chinese  Taipei, and citrus products from South Africa; and import restrictions in response to the 
nuclear  power plant accident in Jap an. The European Union reported on the resolution of the trade 
concern previously raised by Slovenia with respect to Croatia's restrictions on imports of pork.  
4.  The SPS Committee examined the operation of the transparency provisions of the SPS 
Agreement. As  of 1 June 2013, 87 Members had submitted SPS notifications, and a total of 
551 notifications had been submitted since 1 January 2013. 50% of these notifications had been 
submitted on -line via the SPS Notification Submis sion System (NSS). With respect to s pecific 
notifications, Panama requested clarifications from Costa Rica regarding a notification of MRLs for 
medicines in live animals (G/SPS/N/CRI/136), and the United States requested more time to 
comment on the EU notification regarding the prohibition o f the use and sale of seeds treated with 
certain plant protection products (G/SPS/N/EU/39).  
5.  Members, Observer Organizations and the Secretariat provided information on their respective 
SPS-related technical assistance activities at each of the Committee's meetings, with specific 
information provided by the European Union and by Japan. The Committee took note of the 
various WTO SPS technical assistance activities planned for 2013, namely: the Advanced Course 
on the SPS Agreement and two Regional SPS Workshop s to be held for French -speaking Africa (in 
Gabon) and for Arab Countries (in the United Arab Emirates). A  special workshop on SPS -related 
market access issues will also be held on 14 October 2013, with a particular focus on experiences 
of developing count ries in addressing specific market access issues. Over 700 applications were 
submitted to the Secretariat for these activities. The Secretariat also reported on the large number 
of requests for national seminars that had been received from Members and indi cated its intention  
to meet these training needs  to the extent resources permitted . 
6.  The Secretariat  informed  the Committee of the work of the Standards and Trade Development 
Facility (STDF) , highlighting STDF research in selected countries in Africa and As ia to review and 
analyse the implementation of SPS measures, procedures and processes in the context of t rade 
                                               
1 The summary reports are contained in G/SPS/R/70 and G/SPS/R/71, respectively.  G/L/1039  
 
- 2 - 
 
  facilitation , which could be relevant to the Ninth Ministerial Conference (G/SPS/GEN/1251) . The 
STDF study on International Trade and Invasive Alien Species was completed, and contained 
recommendations to the SPS Committee and to Members. The STDF had held additional 
workshops on the application of the Multi -Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) tool to assist Members 
in prioritising among a range of SP S investment options to address specific problems related to 
agri-food exports and market access.  
7.  The issue of special and differential treatment is on the agenda of each SPS Committee 
meeting, and the Secretariat has kept the SPS Committee informed on the  status of discussions in 
the Committee on Trade and Development Special Session with respect to Articles 10.2 and 10.3 
of the SPS  Agreement.  
8.  Many Members provided the Committee with information regarding their status with respect to 
specific plant pests a nd animal diseases. At its June meeting, the Committee adopted the annual 
report on the implementation of Article 6 of the SPS Agreement with respect to the adaptation of 
measures to regional conditions (G/SPS/GEN/1245).  
9.  The SPS Committee continued to addr ess 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 Agreement on ad hoc consultations or negotiations to 
resolve specific trade concerns.2 The Secretariat reported on work undertaken by the Committee 
on Technical Barriers to Trade regarding good regulatory practices, an issue tha t had also been 
raised in the last review of the operation of the SPS Agreement (G/SPS/53). The Secretariat drew 
attention to the on -going discussions on trade facilitation and possible linkages with provisions of 
the SPS Agreement.  
10.  The Committee continue d its work on the development of a working definition of SPS -related 
private standards3, as well as discussing the implementation of the other actions agreed by the 
Committee (G/SPS/55). Work in other fora relating to private standards was also presented, in 
particular the creation of the UN Forum on Sustainability Standards (UNFSS) by the FAO, ITC, 
UNCTAD, UNEP and UNIDO. The UNFSS is intended to provide an unbiased and credible policy 
dialogue with analytical, empirical and capacity -building activities, b ased on demand by developing 
countries and involving all concerned non -governmental stakeholders.  
11.  The SPS Committee maintained its close working relationship with the Codex, IPPC, and the 
OIE (often referred to as the "Three Sister" organizations) and rece ived regular updates on their 
activities. The Committee congratulated the Codex on its 50th anniversary. At its June meeting, t he 
Committee adopted the 15th annual report on monitoring the use of international standards, and 
highlighted the importance of t he standards based on scientific principles and evidence  
(G/SPS/60) . Other observer organizations also provided information on their activities, including 
technical assistance activities.  
12.  At its March meeting, the Committee agreed to grant observer status,  on an ad hoc, meeting -
by-meeting basis, to the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), in line with the 
Committee's previous decisions to grant observer status to other African regional economic 
organizations with SPS -related activities.  
13.  The SP S Committee has tentatively agreed to hold reg ular meetings on 25 -26 March, 
9-10 July and 16 -17 October 201 4. 
 
__________  
                                               
2 G/SPS/ W/259/Rev.6.  
3 G/SPS/W/265/Rev.4.