G/SPS/GEN/1419  
 
26 June 2015  
(15-3307)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures    
 
  WORKSHOP ON TRANSPARENCY 
MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER – TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2015 
DRAFT PROGRAMME 
Note by the Secretariat1 
1.  The Secretariat of the World Trade Organiza t i o n  i s  o r g a n i z i n g  a  s p e c i a l  w o r k s h o p  o n  t h e  
transparency provisions of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures (SPS Agreement), to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on 12-13 October 2015. The 
workshop will be followed by informal and form al meetings of the SPS Committee, lasting until 
Friday, 16 October 2015. Representatives of Memb ers, Observers and Observer Organizations are 
all invited to participate in the transparency work shop as well as the subsequent meetings of the 
Committee. 
2.  Document G/SPS/GEN/997/Rev.5 provides information on the workshop, the link to the 
application form, as well as the requirements and the deadline for submission of applications. The 
WTO, with the financial assistance of the Doha Development Agenda Global Trust Fund (DDAGTF), 
will sponsor the participation of approximately 50 government officials from developing country Members and Observers. The Secretariat will select participants to be sponsored among 
applications from government officials in charge of the implementation of the transparency 
provisions of the SPS Agreement. 
3.  The workshop is intended to be a highly inte ractive, "hands-on" event including training on the 
use of the improved SPS Information Management  System (SPS IMS) and on-line submission 
system of SPS notifications (SPS NSS), while also  providing a forum for discussion and experience 
sharing on developments, challenges and practices in the area of SPS transparency. 
4.  The workshop will also be an occasion to co ntinue the discussions on transparency started with 
the joint proposal by Chile, the European Union, Morocco and Norway for actions related to the 
fulfilment of transparency obligations
2, which was developed as part of the Fourth Review of the 
implementation of the SPS Agreement. The Anal ysis of the Replies to the Questionnaire on 
Transparency under the SPS Agreement (G/SPS/GEN/1402) provides background information on 
Members' implementation practices and challenges encountered. 
5.  Members will be invited to comment on the following draft proposed programme for the 
workshop at the SPS Committee meeting on 15-16 July 2015. 
                                               
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to thei r rights and obligations under the WTO. 
2 G/SPS/W/278, which built on two former prop osals regarding transparency (G/SPS/W/274 and 
G/SPS/W/277). G/SPS/GEN/1419 
 
- 2 - 
 
  MONDAY, 12 OCTOBER 2015 
10:00–10:15 
Opening remarks 
Overview of the workshop and its objectives. 
10:15–10:45 
Session 1: Introduction 
Overview of the transparency provisions in the SPS Agreement and of relevant Committee/Ministerial 
Decisions 
10:45–11:45 
Session 2: WTO sources of information 
 I-TIP; WTO Documents online; light box ;  
 SPS gateway + Presentation of the new version of the SPS IMS 
12:00-13:00  
Session 3: Practical session on the use of the SPS IMS 
Participants will break into three groups (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers and (iii) Spanish 
speakers.  
 SPS IMS hands-on exercise 
13:00–15:00  Lunch break 
15:00–18:00 
Session 4: Sharing of national experiences Participants will present their experiences and share best practices (8 to 10 speakers, 10 minute 
presentations) in relation to the implementation of SPS transparency provisions. Presentations could 
cover the following thematic areas of interest:  
 Making information available (public websites; journals or gazettes; translations; etc.); 
 Tracking, sorting and distributing incoming notifi cations (systems and procedures in place; etc.); 
 Coordination (at national level, e.g. to comment on notifications from other Members); 
 Handling of comments (legal frameworks for administrative procedures; agency procedures for 
evaluating and responding to comments);  
 Transparency-related Technical Assistance (success stories; lessons learned)…  G/SPS/GEN/1419 
 
- 3 - 
 
  TUESDAY, 13 OCTOBER 2015 
10:00–10:15 Opening Remarks 
10:15–11:00  
Session 5: 20 years of Transparency 
 Presentation of Members' level of implementati on of transparency provisions and decisions 
(G/SPS/GEN/804/Rev.8) 
11:00–11:45  
Session 6: Overview of the SPS NSS  How does the on-line submission facility work?  
 Presentation of the new SPS NSS platform: what has changed?  
12:00–13:00  
Session 7: Practical session on how to prepare notifications (SPS NSS) 
Participants will break into three groups (i) English speakers, (ii) French speakers and (iii) Spanish 
speakers.  
 Intro: How to use the new SPS NSS an d how to fill in a notification form  
 SPS NSS hands-on exercises  
13:00–14:30 Lunch break 
14:30–16:15 (14:30-15:00 plenary, 15:00-16:15 groups)  
Session 8: What actions could improve th e implementation and benefits of SPS 
transparency provisions? 
Participants will break into groups to discuss the issues that emerged from the replies to the 
transparency questionnaire  and how they could be addressed. 
Possible themes of discussion, stemming from the transparency questionnaire, include: 
 Difficulties in filling in notifications;  
 Identifying trade facilitating measures; 
 Identifying and targeting interested stakeholders; 
 How to handle comments;  
 Notified documents that are not in one of the WTO languages: how to deal with them and how to 
obtain translations… 
Each participant will choose one topic, based on his/her interests and professional background. Group 
discussions will run in parallel and should focus on possible ways to address these issues. 
Approximately 1 hour time will be allocated for group discussions. 
16:30–17:30 - Reporting to the plenary 
 
Rapporteurs of each group will report back to the plenary ( 5 minutes each ). The floor will then be 
opened for questions and comments. 
17:30–18:00 
Session 9: Conclusion and recommendations  
 
 
__________