G/TBT/W/710  
2 March  2020 
(20-1553) Page: 1/2 
Committee on Technical Barriers to Trade  Original:  Spanish  
 
  
CHINA − DRAFT ADMINISTRATIVE  MEASURES FOR REGIST RATION OF OVERSEAS 
PRODUCERS OF IMPORTE D FOODS  
STATEMENT BY MEXICO TO THE COMMITTEE ON TECHNICAL BARRIERS T O TRADE  
26 AND  27 FEBRUARY  2020 
The following communication, dated 28 February  2020, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of  Mexico . 
 
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1.  Mexico hereby refers to  the draft Administrative Measures  for Registration of Overseas Producers 
of Imported Foods that w ere published by the General Administration of Customs of China (GACC) 
on 26 November  2019 and which were available for public consultation until 2 5 December  2019. 
2.  The draft a dministrative measures  seek to  replac e the Administrative Measures  for Registration 
of Overseas Producers of Imported Foods  set out in Decree No. 145, which  were previously published 
by China's General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ ). 
3.  These measures  establish the registration requirements that must be met by overseas producers 
of imported foods wishing  to export food items to China . The requirements include the 
recommendation  by the competent authority in the country of origin , a risk assessment  of the 
products to be imported , possible  onsite visi ts or inspections of the exporting enterprises, as well as 
labelling requirements for a "minimum sales package", the scope of which is unknown to us . 
4.  On the basis of th e above , the measur es published  by the Government of China constitute  a trade 
concern for Mexico , for the following reasons : 
a. They create a dditional procedures for the counterpart or competent authorities in  the 
countries of origin, by imposing on them an additional certification procedure aimed at  
compliance with Chinese legislation . This could  mean , for example,  that Mexican  
exporters  would have to certify their  produc ts for export general ly, and , in addition,  
embark upon  a parallel procedure  in order to export their goods to China . Such a 
procedure could  impose burdensome  workload s and processes on both exporter s and 
the authorities in the countr ies of origin , and contravene  the principle of proportionality 
set forth in  Articles 2.2 and 5.1.2 of the TBT Agreement  by constituting a regulation 
that not only directly affects trade but that also prove s unnecessary and unjustified for 
the fulfilment of the legitimate objective of the issuing country.  
b. They cause  confusion over the categories under  which each product would be listed.  
The administrative measures  require that  a risk assessment  be carried out for each 
product before importers may be registered , but do not establish t he scientific or 
technical basis f or this risk assessment . Will it be based on an international standard ? 
What is its objective and how will it be determined ? To what extent  is such risk 
assessment co nsistent with the provisions of Article 2.2 and 2.4 of the TBT Agreement?  
c. The measures  were not notified to the members of the WTO TBT Committee, and this  
may also violate  the principles of transparency contained in Article 2.9 of the  
TBT Agreement by not facilitating the participation o f Members in the process of G/TBT/W/710  
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  prepar ing a regulation that impose s on them additional requirements that are decisive 
for their entry to th at market.  
5.  Mexico therefore requests the Government of China:  
a. To share the objective of these measures , and to expla in why they  are considered 
necessary for the importation of products.  
b. To share with us the technical and scientific evidence that under pins these 
administrative measures  both in terms of the certification p rocess in the country of 
origin and registration by the GACC , as well as the technical and scientific evidence to 
be used in the risk assessment  determination . 
c. To clarify the labelling requirements to be covered by these administrative measures . 
d. To share the manner in which the categorization of products is to be carried out , and to 
indicate to us the scope of the products covered . For example, will alcoholic beverage s 
be included ? Our main concern is that tequila may be categorized as a high -risk product 
and subject to duplicat ive requirements . In past Committees , and  in relation to  
regulations previously published by China, Mexico has requested the acceptance of the 
certificate  for the export ation of tequila , which attest s to the quality and safety of the 
product . Would it be practicable to consider  the acceptance of this certificate in the 
specific case of tequila as equivalent to the processes that these measures  represent?  
e. Lastly , we would be grateful to the Government of C hina if it would  notify this measure  
to the WTO TBT Committee  so that Members  can participate  in the process of public 
consultation envisaged by this forum, and we kindly ask for clarification o f the date on 
which these measures  are expected to take effect.  
 
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