G/SPS/GEN/1527  
 
20 October 2016 
(16-5691) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures  Original: English  
 
COMMENTS ON THE UNITED STATES'  REGULATION ON MANDATORY  INSPECTION  
OF FISH OF THE ORDER  SILURIFORMES  AND PRODUCTS  
DERIVED FROM SUCH FI SH 
WTO/SPS COMMITTEE ME ETING  
27-28 OCTOBER 2016  
Communication from China  
The following communication, dated 18 October  2016, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of China . 
 
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1.  The Delegation of China hereby submits for circulation the following comments regarding the 
United States ' Regulation on Mandatory Inspection of Fish of the Order Silurifor mes and Products 
Derived from Such Fish, which took effect on 1 March 2016.  
2.  Section 530.2 of the regulation shifts regulatory responsibility for siluriformes (including fish 
commonly known as "catfish ") and its products from USFDA to USDA/FSIS and applies inspection 
requirements for terrestrial animals to siluriformes and its products.  
3.  According to the regulation, siluriformes fish products are the only fish products under the 
jurisdiction of  USDA/FSIS. China believes that  shifting regulation of siluriforme s fish products 
inspection from the USFDA to the USDA but keeping other aquatic products under the inspection of 
USFDA is not based on scientific evidence and cannot be justified by any risk assessment, since 
there is no evidence that catfish, compared wit h other aquatic products, poses a higher risk.  
4.  The concerns raised by China are not only supported by Members at the previous meetings of 
this Committee, but also justified by a report by the US Government  Accountability Office (GAO) 
in May 2012, a risk an alysis report published by USDA in July 2012 and an assessment report 
provided by FSIS/USDA 's Office of Public Health Science in January 2015.  
a. In the GAO re port, it is clearly stated that  the risk food poisoning from catfish might be 
overestimated. It also  showed that, while the proportion of imported catfish of the total 
US catfish market had been increasing over the past decades from 2% to almos t a 
quarter, the number of food -related illness caused by catfish did not increase.  
b. According to the USDA risk a nalysis report, the number of illness es caused by catfish can 
be ignored. Additionally, it was acknowledged that shifting the regulation of catfi sh to 
USDA will not guarantee an  increase of the catfish safety rate and whether USDA 's 
regulation will effecti vely reduce catfish -related illness cannot be predicted.  
c. In the assessment report by FSIS/USDA 's Office of Public Health Science (the newest 
one as observed), it was concluded that there was substantial uncertainty regarding the 
actual effectiveness of the  FSIS Siluriformes inpsection program.  
5.  Furthermore, the application of inspection requirements for terrestrial animals to siluriformes 
and its products differs from the established international norms or practices. It is recognized 
internationally that fis h an d fish products are of low risk  and are subject to inspection 
requirements for aquatic animals, rather that those requirements on terrestrial animals. G/SPS/GEN/1527  
 
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  By applying inspection procedures for terrestrial animals to catfish and catfish products, the 
United States fails to respect those well -established international norms or practices and therefore 
imposes unnecessary restriction s against legitimate trade.  
6.  Since the entry into force of the regulation, it has imposed huge burdensome and unjustifiable 
require ments on China 's catfish farmers and catfish products exporters. Almost thirty million USD 
of exports per year from China to the United States  has been affected severely and nearly tens of 
thousands of jobs in the sector and in downstreams are in jeopardy due to the restrictive effects 
created.  
7.  Besides the grave concerns by Members, the US Senate also doubted deeply the effectiveness 
of the FSIS/USDA inspection program me and its pu rpose. On 25 March 2016, the  US Senate 
overturned the inspection program me by majority and concerns raised were about its attempt to 
protect American domestic catfish companies from competing with foreign exporters.  
8.  During past years and on various occasions, China has provided comments and raised serious 
concerns to the U nited Sta tes. China is regretful that, during the regulation formulation and 
adoption process, the US Government failed to take these comments and concerns into 
consideration.  
9.  China has repeatedly urged the United States to provide scientific evidence for its inspe ction 
program me on catfish and catfish products and bring it into conformity with the WTO rules. 
But, regrettably, the US side has failed to do so.  
10.  Finally, China strongly urges the United States to consider the comments made and concerns 
raised by China a nd other Members and bring its measure into immediate and full compliance with 
the provisions of the WTO Agreements.  
 
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