G/SPS/GEN/1557  
28 June 2017 
(17-3453) Page: 1/3 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original:  Spanish  
 
  ACTIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ON  
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES  
INFORMATION PRESENTED BY THE INTER -AMERICAN INSTITUTE FOR  
COOPERATION ON AGRICULTURE (IICA)  
The following communication, received on 2 7 June 2017, is being circulate d at the request of 
the IICA. 
 
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The observer organizations of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Committee) are invited to submit reports on the activities they have carried out to promote 
the understanding and i mplementation of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Agreement) . The IICA would like to present some of the actions and 
activities that it considers relevant to the work of this Committee.  
1  EFFORTS TO MAKE GREATER US E OF MULTILATERAL AND REGIONAL FORUMS  
1.1  World Trade Organization  
1.1.  The IICA joined forces  with the WTO to hold a regional workshop for Latin American countries 
on good regulatory practices . 
1.2.  The event was held from 20 to 2 3 June at IICA  headquarters  and was att ended by  
48 delegates from 19 countries and two organizations.  
1.3.  The workshop was organized by the WTO Institute for Technical Training and Cooperation 
(ITTC), the WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division and the Standards and Trade Development 
Facility (STD F) in conjunction with  the IICA.  
1.4.  The main purpose  of the event was to familiarize  participants  with the benefits of including 
good regulatory prac tices in the regulatory process . Experience -sharing between countries  
together with  group working sessions  enabled a set of good practices already used by the 
countries  to be identified . 
1.2  Codex Alimentarius  
1.5.  Codex Colloquium : A colloqui um on the Codex Alimentarius was held on 15 and 1 6 June in 
Ottawa, Canada . Strategic issues  related  to the upcoming 40th session of the Codex Alimentarius 
Commission (CAC40) were discussed . The event was at tended by  76 delegates from 43 countries 
and three inter -governmental organizations . Delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean, 
Africa, the United States, Canada, the IICA, the African Union - Inter-African Bureau for Animal 
Resources (AU -IBAR) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organization ( UNIDO ) were 
present.  
1.6.  The colloqui um served as  a forum to present and analyse topics of interest to the various 
regions and explo re issues  relating to the Codex Alimentarius.  G/SPS/GEN/1557  
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  1.7.  The event was f unded  by the United States Department of Agriculture  (USDA) and Health 
Canada in conjunction with  the IICA.  
1.8.  Technical meeting between Canada and the Caribbean Codex Alimentarius 
countries : A technical meeting aimed at developing the capacities of the Codex focal points in the 
Caribbean region was held in Ottawa, Canada, from 13 to 1 4 June. T he event  was attended by 
35 delegates from 17 countries and the IICA.  
1.9.  The event focused on : (i) strengthenin g of regional capacities in order to  enhance  effective 
participation in Codex Alimentarius meetings ; (ii) development of  the capacities of focal points in 
respect of  management  tasks, coordination with  different actors and institutional strengthening ; 
and (iii) participation in scientific bod ies of the Food and Agriculture  Organization ( FAO) and World 
Health Organization ( WHO). 
1.10.   The technical meeting was f unded  by the Government of Canada (Health Canada) and 
benefit ed from the collaboration of the IICA , the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
and the FAO/WHO Coordinating Committee for Latin America and the Caribbean (CCLAC ), the host 
country of which is currently Chile. 
1.11.   Codex twinning programme : A new phase  of the Codex Alimentarius twinning 
progra mme has been launched . This programme funds  low-cost projects identified by countries 
that wish to resolve a specific situation regarding  the Codex Alimentarius  by harnessing the 
positive related experiences of another country  in the region . 
1.12.   The beneficiar y countries in this phase are: 
 Costa Rica;  
 Nicaragua;  
 Honduras;  
 Guatemala ; and 
 the Dominican Republic  
1.13.   Submitted and approved projects must be concluded  this year . Countries requested  as 
twinning partners  include  the United States, Ecuador, Brazil and Chile . 
1.14.   The twinning programme is f unded  by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) 
and implemented  by the IICA.  
1.15.   Programme for participation in Codex Alimentarius meetings : The IICA supported  
participation in the following Codex Committees through its  Programme to Support the 
Participation of Countries in Codex Alimentarius Meetings:  
a. CCCF11: Codex Committee on Contaminants in Foods, held in Brazil in April 2017. 
Support was provided for the participation of Costa Rica, Uruguay, Ecuador and 
Dominica  in this meeting ; 
b. CCPR 49: Codex Committee on Pesticide Residues, held in China in April 2017. Support 
was provided for the participation of Chile, Peru, Antigua and Barbuda and Jamaica in 
this meeting ; 
c. CCFICS23: Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspec tion and Certification 
Systems, held in Mexico in May 2017. Support was provided for the participation of 
Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, Paraguay and Nicaragua in this meeting ; 
d. CAC40: Codex Alimentarius Commission , held in Switzerland in July 2017. Support wa s 
provided for the participation of El Salvador, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador, Panama, Nicaragua, 
Colombia, Trinidad and Tobago, Antigua and Barbuda, S aint Vincent and the Grenadines  
and Barbados in this meeting.  
1.16.   The participation programme is funded by the Uni ted States Department of Agriculture  
(USDA)  and implemented by the IICA.  G/SPS/GEN/1557  
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  1.17.   FAO/WHO Webinar on the Codex  Diagnostic Tool : The IICA joined forces  with the FAO , 
WHO and Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to coordinate the first in a series of webinars 
on the Codex Diagnostic T ool. The webinar, broadcast  from the FAO headquarters in Rome , was 
open to the Caribbean country focal points and the IICA offices . Twenty participants from 
six countries in the region and the IICA offices , including the Chile office , participated in the event . 
A webinar  for the Latin American region will be held in the near future.  
1.18.   IICA -Chile Cooperation Project for Caribbean Codex countries : A training course was 
held in Chile for countries in which  the cooperation project for capacit y building  and Codex 
Alimentarius  management is being implemented . The course , which was held from 19 to 2 2 March  
and attended by  nine representatives from Chile, Guyana, Jamaica, Saint  Lucia, Suriname and 
Trinidad and Tobago, put emphasis on drafting rule s of procedure  for the National Committee and 
developing a strategic plan.  
1.3  World Organi sation for Animal Health (OIE)  
1.19.   An event dedicated to  the study and analys is of OIE standards was held on 25 and 
26 April 2017 at IICA headquarters . Funded by the United States Department of Agriculture  
(USDA) , it was attended by 44 delegates from 27 countries, the IICA and the OIE . 
For further  information , please contact  Robert Ahern ( robert.ahern@iica.int ). 
 
Inter-American Inst itute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)  
Agricultural Health and Food Safety  
http://www.iica.int  
 
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