G/L/1039/Rev.1  
 
30 October 2013  
(13-6003)  Page: 1/3  
   
 
REPORT (2013) ON THE ACTIVITIES OF THE COMMITTEE ON 
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
Revision 
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 summary of the activities and decisions of the Committee during 2013. 
2.  The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "SPS Committee") held regular 
meetings on 21-22 March, 27-28 June, and 16-17 October 2013.
1 Ms Maria Araceli Albarece 
(Philippines) was re-elected as chairperson for 2013-14 by the Committee at its June 2013 meeting. 
3.  At each meeting, Members provided informat ion regarding changes in their SPS policies and 
situations, including with respect to food safety  emergencies and pest- or disease-outbreaks. The 
SPS Committee also considered a wide range of sp ecific trade concerns. Twenty-two new specific 
trade concerns were raised during 2013 and many previously raised concerns were discussed 
again. The new issues raised included,  inter alia , US proposed food safety audits and certifications; 
EU temperature treatment requirements on processed meat products; China's import conditions 
related to phthalates and to swallow's nests; France's ban on bisphenol A (BPA); India's import 
restrictions on pork, as well as on apples, pears and citrus; EU phytosanitary requirements on pine trees from Russia, orchid plantlets from Chinese Taipei, and citrus products from South Africa; 
BSE-related restrictions on Brazilian meat products; and import restrictions in response to the 
nuclear power plant accident in Japan. Forty-si x trade concerns were reported to have been 
resolved or partially resolved during the course of the year. 
4.  The SPS Committee examined the operation of the transparency provisions of the SPS 
Agreement and the annual report regarding the implementation of these provisions 
(G/SPS/GEN/804/Rev.6). As of 15 September 2013, 108 Members had submitted SPS notifications, and a total of 700 notificati ons had been submitted since 1 January 2013. 
Approximately 50% of these notifications had been submitted on-line via the SPS Notification 
Submission System (NSS). With respect to specific  notifications, Panama requested clarifications 
from Costa Rica regarding a notification of MRLs for medicines in live animals (G/SPS/N/CRI/136); the United States requested more time to comment on the EU notification regarding the prohibition 
of the use and sale of seeds treated with certai n plant protection products (G/SPS/N/EU/39); and 
Japan questioned the rationale behind Turkey's noti fication of the prohibition of the use of certain 
additives in so-called traditional foods (G/SPS/N/TUR/31). 
5.  Members, Observer Organizations and the Secr etariat 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 an d 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 Workshops for French-speaking Africa (in Gabon) and for Arab Countries (in the United Arab Emirat es). A special workshop on SPS-related market 
access issues was held on 14 October 2013, with a particular focus on experiences of developing 
countries in addressing specific SPS-related market access issues. Over 700 applications were 
submitted to the Secretariat for the 2013 technical assistance activities. The Secretariat also 
                                               
1 The summary reports of the Marc h and June meetings are containe d in G/SPS/R/70 and G/SPS/R/71, 
respectively, and the summary report  of the October meeting will be ci rculated as G/SPS/R/72 shortly. G/L/1039/Rev.1 
 
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  reported on the large number of requests for na tional seminars that had been received from 
Members and indicated its intention to meet these training needs to the extent resources permitted. 
6.  The Secretariat informed the Committee of th e work of the Standards and Trade Development 
Facility (STDF), highlighting STDF research in selected countries in Africa and Asia to review and 
analyse the implementation of SPS measures, proc edures and processes in the context of trade 
facilitation, which could be relevant to the Ni nth Ministerial Conference (G/SPS/GEN/1279). 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 SPS investment options to address specific problems related to 
agri-food exports and market access. 
7.  The issue of special and differential treatm ent 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 and 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 address some i ssues arising from the periodic reviews of the 
operation and implementation of the SPS Agreemen t. An informal working group was established 
to advance work, through electronic and physical exchanges, on a procedure to facilitate the implementation of Article 12.2 of the SPS Agreemen t on ad hoc consultations or negotiations to 
resolve specific trade concerns. However, the Committee was unable to reach consensus on the 
proposed procedure at its October meeting.
2 The Secretariat reported on work undertaken by the 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade regarding good regulatory practices, an issue that 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. The Committee adopted a procedure and time-frame for undertaking the Fourth Review of the Oper ation and Implementation of the Agreement 
(G/SPS/W/270), and some Members began identifying issues for consideration as part of this 
review. 
10.  The Committee continued its work on the development of a working definition of SPS-related 
private standards
3, 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 Sust ainability 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, based on demand by developing countries and involving all concerned non-governmental stakeholders. 
11.  The SPS Committee maintained its close workin g relationship with the Codex, IPPC, and the 
OIE (often referred to as the "Three Sister" organizations) and received regular updates on their 
activities. The Committee congratulated the Codex on its 50
th anniversary. At its June meeting, the 
Committee adopted the 15th annual report on monitoring the use of international standards, and 
highlighted the importance of the standards ba sed 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 Author ity 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. 
                                               
2 G/SPS/W/259/Rev.7. 
3 G/SPS/W/272. G/L/1039/Rev.1 
 
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  13.  The SPS Committee has tentatively agreed to hold regular meetings on 25-26 March, 
9-10 July and 16-17 October 2014. 
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