RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/R/37 
11 August 2005 
 (05-3579) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
SUMMARY OF THE MEETING HELD ON 29-30 JUNE 2005 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO. G/SPS/R/37 
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 TABLE OF CONTENTS
 
 
I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA ......................................................................................................... .. 3 
II. ELECTION OF TH E CHAIRM AN ...................................................................................................... 3  
III. ACTIVITIES OF  MEMBERS .......................................................................................................... ..... 3 
IV. SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERNS........................................................................................................ .. 5 
(a) New Issues..................................................................................................................... 5 
(b) Issues previously raised...............................................................................................12  
(c) Consideration of Specific Notifications Received.......................................................17  
(d) Information on Resolution of Issues............................................................................18  
V. OPERATION OF TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS....................................................................... 18  
VI. IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL AN D DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT............................... 19  
(a) Chairman's report on the informal meeting and adoption of the report to the 
General Council...........................................................................................................19  
(b) Issues related to Special a nd Differential Treatment...................................................21  
VII. EQUIVALENCE  (ARTICLE 4) ....................................................................................................... .. 21 
(a) Information from Members on their experiences ........................................................21  
(b) Information from relevant  observer organizations ......................................................22  
VIII. REGIONALIZATION (ARTICLE 6) ................................................................................................. 22  
(a) Report of informal meeting .........................................................................................22  
(b) Discussion of issues related to the operation of the provisions of Article 6................24  
IX. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION ...................................................................... 25  
(a) Information from the Secretariat .................................................................................25  
(b) Information from Members .........................................................................................26  
(c) Information from Observers ........................................................................................27  
X. MONITORING THE USE OF IN TERNATIONAL STANDARDS................................................. 29  
(a) New Issues...................................................................................................................29  
(b) Issues Previously Raised .............................................................................................29  
XI. REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT..................................................... 29  
(a) Report of Informal Meetings .......................................................................................29  
XII. MATTERS OF INTEREST ARISING FROM THE WORK OF OBSERVER 
ORGANIZATIONS .................................................................................................................. ............ 30  
(a) Information from Codex..............................................................................................30  
(b) Information from IPPC................................................................................................31  
(c) Information from the OIE............................................................................................32  
(d) Information from IICA ................................................................................................32  
(e) Information from WHO...............................................................................................33  
(f) Information from OIRSA ............................................................................................33  
(g) Information from ISO (G/SPS/GEN/589) ...................................................................34  
XIII. OBSERVERS – REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS............................................................... 34  
XIV. CALENDAR OF REGULAR MEETINGS IN  2006 .......................................................................... 34  
XV. OTHER BUSINESS ................................................................................................................. ............. 34  
XVI. DATE AND AGENDA OF NEXT MEETING ................................................................................... 36  
  G/SPS/R/37 
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 I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 
1. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the "Committee") held its thirty-
third meeting on 29-30 June 2005.  The age nda proposed in WTO/AIR/2604 was adopted with 
amendments. 
2. The Secretariat reminded Members of the importance of ensuring that documents were 
submitted well in advance of the Committee meeting, so that they could be circulated as formal 
documents in the three WTO working languages. 
II. ELECTION OF THE CHAIRMAN 
3. The Committee confirmed Mr. Gregg Young (U nited States) as Chairman of the SPS 
Committee until the conclusion of the first regular  meeting of 2006, and expressed its appreciation 
and confidence in his leadership. 
III. ACTIVITIES OF MEMBERS 
Eradication programmes for classical swine fev er, brucellosis and tuberculosis in Nicaragua 
(G/SPS/GEN/575 and 576)  
4. The representative of Nicaragua described Nicaragua's eradication programmes for 
brucellosis and tuberculosis.  A certification process of farms free of brucellosis and tuberculosis had 
been initiated first in the dairy producing areas a nd subsequently throughout the country.  Nicaragua 
expected to be able to establish disease-free zones after completing the certification of disease-free farms.  The certification process had been designed w ith the support of  the United States Department 
of Agriculture Animal and Plant Health Inspec tion Service (USDA-APHIS) and was made possible 
thanks to the participation of both the private and the public sectors.   
5. The representative of Nicaragua further informed the Committee about the national 
programme for the eradication of classical swine fever.  This programme had been designed in 
collaboration with OIRSA, Chinese Tapei and USDA .  The aim was to better provide appropriate 
information to both producers and the population and to establish an efficient epidemiological 
surveillance programme as well as an emergency c ontrol system.  Nicaragua hoped to have all the 
basic information necessary for achieving international recognition as a country free from classical 
swine fever by 2008.  
Information meeting for third countries on the new EC hygiene and food and feed controls legislation  
 
6. The representative of the European Communitie s explained that a meeting to provide 
information and clarifications on the revised EC  legislations would take place on 19 July 2005 in 
Brussels.  She recalled that the regulations (852/2004, 853/2004 and 854/2004) on processing hygiene 
inspections and controls of feed and food would en ter into force on 1 January 2006.  The information 
event for third countries would address the following subjects:  (i) the new hygiene rules for food and 
feed;  (ii) the revised rules for inspection and controls;  and (iii) implementation strategies and 
implications for non-EC countries as well as tools for capacity building and technical assistance.  
Updated information on the EC import requirement s for wood packaging material would also be 
provided.  The representative of the European Communities encouraged Members to alert the 
European Communities bilaterally in advance of th e meeting of specific issues they would like to 
raise to allow sufficient time to prepare the answers.  G/SPS/R/37 
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 7. The representatives of Canada and the United Stat es expressed their interest in this event 
given the significance of the new regulations.  Canada  indicated interest in commenting on drafts of 
the regulations prior to their adoption.  
Canada's proposed BSE import policy (G/SPS/GEN/585) 
 
8. The representative of Canada updated the Comm ittee on the recent developments regarding 
Canada's BSE import policy.  Canada's existing BSE import policy permitted the importation of live 
ruminants and most of their products only after th e exporting country had been officially recognized 
as BSE-free by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency .  As the measures available to mitigate the 
transmission of BSE had evolved su bstantially in recent years, Cana da's existing policy had recently 
been determined to be more restrictive than the cu rrent international standard s.  Consequently, Canada 
had decided to revised it.  The new proposed impor t policy, notified in G/SPS/N/CAN/244, closely 
adhered to the revised OIE standards on BSE adopted  in May 2005 and reflected the current scientific 
understanding of the measures necessary to protect  human and animal health, thus maintaining 
Canada's previous level of protection but in a less trade-restrictive manner.  Canada urged its trading 
partners to adapt their current BSE import policy to the new OIE standards. 
Actions regarding BSE in the United States 
 
9. The representative of the United States recalled that the purpose of the US enhanced 
surveillance and testing programme of a targeted  cattle population (menti oned in G/SPS/R/36/Rev.1, 
paras. 9-12) was to provide meaningful estimates of  the rate of prevalence of BSE.  This testing 
programme, begun in June 2004, had only detected  one positive case out of 400,000 animals tested, 
indicating that the safeguards in place to protect human  and animal health were working.  No part of 
the positively-tested animal had entered any food or export chain and its carcass had been incinerated.  
The United States was still conducting an epidemiologi cal investigation of this animal, born before 
the institution of the ruminant-to-ruminant feed ban in August 1997.  The fact that no cases of BSE 
had been found in animals born after the introduction of  the feed ban was a strong indication that this 
important safeguard was being effectively implem ented.  At its May 2005 meeting, the OIE had 
adopted new provisions recognizing that boneless beef  from cattle 30 months of age or under was safe 
for international trade regardless of the BSE status of the supplying country as long as specific processing procedures were followed.  The United States had implemented these processing procedures since January 2004 and therefore urged its trading partners not to adopt further restrictions 
on US beef.  
Comments by the United States on the DSB findings in the Japan-Apples case (WT/DS/245) 
 
10. The representative of the United States recalled that the Panel's decision in the Japan-Apples 
case made clear that Japan's import regime for appl es did not comply with the provisions of the SPS 
Agreement.  The Panel had endorsed the US argume nt that any hypothetical concerns regarding the 
spread of fire blight could be addressed by rest ricting exports of apple fruit to mature symptomless 
fruit.  The United States estimated that apple e xports to Japan would approximately amount to 143 
million dollars in the absence of restrictions and was looking forwar d to working with the Japanese 
authorities to restore access for US apples to Japan.  The representative of the United States 
encouraged other Members which had similar restrictions  regarding fire blight on  fruit to review them 
carefully in light of the Panel's decision.  
Sanitary situation of Paraguay with regard to FMD and BSE 
11. The representative of Paraguay explained that, since Paraguay's exports of meat products 
represented a high percentage of total exports, a better management of the control and eradication 
programmes for FMD and BSE was a high priority fo r the Government.  Implementation of the FMD  G/SPS/R/37 
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 eradication programme had begun in 1992 and by 1999, all centres of FMD had been eliminated.  In 
May 1997, Paraguay had been certified by the OIE as a country free of FMD with vaccination, a 
status which had been maintained until the end of 2002, when one outbreak of the disease was located 
at the frontier with Brazil.  In July 2003, another outbreak of FMD had been located very close to the 
frontier with Argentina and Bolivia.  These events had obliged the country to thoroughly revise its 
FMD eradication strategy.  As a result of Paraguay's efforts to comply with OIE requirements and 
procedures, the OIE's Scientific Commission for Anim al Diseases had decided to restore Paraguay's 
FMD-free status with vaccination in January 20 05.  The representative of Paraguay noted that 
arrangements had been made with Argentina, Brazil and Bolivia for specific activities on the frontiers.  
The representative of Brazil congratulated Para guay on its work struggling against FMD and 
mentioned Brazil's commitment to continue the jo int efforts to tackle this disease in the South 
American region.  
12. Concerning BSE, the representative of Paraguay recalled that in July 2000, the scientific 
commission of the European Union had granted to Paraguay the country classification of geographical 
BSE risk 1 (GBR 1), implying a highly improbable ri sk of infection of domestic cattle by the BSE-
causing agent.  This situation was very stable b ecause there had been no regi stration of imports of 
animal origin from countries known to be affected  by BSE.  Assuming that the measures taken 
continued to be appropriately impl emented and that there was no new significant external threat, the 
probability that cattle be infected  by BSE would stay very low.  Paraguay's GBR 1 classification had 
been renewed annually from 2001 to 2005.  In Febr uary 2005, Paraguay had provided the OIE with 
the relevant documentation requesting the recogniti on of its BSE-free status.  A technical report on 
Paraguay's documentation would be considered by th e OIE International Committee in May 2006.   
IV. SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERNS 
(a) New Issues 
Australia's import restrictions on New Zealand apples 
13. The representative of New Zealand explained that although his country enjoyed a strong 
trading relationship with Australia, it had been ac tively pursuing access to the Australian apple market 
since 1986.  Fresh apples were the second most si gnificant horticultural export of New Zealand after 
kiwifruit.  He highlighted that it was the first time that New Zealand had raised an issue of concern in 
relation to Australia in the SPS Committee.  Aust ralia's ban on New Zealand apples was based on the 
perceived risk of fire blight transmission, altho ugh the science had clearly demonstrated that the risk 
of mature symptomless apples in trade being vectors fo r the transmission of fire blight was negligible.  
Since 1999, when New Zealand made its fourth application for regaining access to the Australian 
apple market, the Australian authorities had only rel eased two draft risk analyses, systematically 
followed by a round of comments.  This undue delay of six years was unacceptable.  The representative of New Zealand invited the Australian authorities to clarify when the next draft risk 
analysis would be issued and to provide New Zealan d an assurance that this would be the last draft 
prior to the issuance of a final risk analysis.  He also requested that the Australian authorities indicate 
when the final risk analysis might be completed a nd expressed hope that this would occur in the near 
future so that New Zealand would not be forced  to consider further options to resolve this 
longstanding issue.  
14. The representatives of Chile, th e European Communities and the United States indicated that 
they had experienced similar difficulties.  The Eu ropean Communities hoped that since Australia was 
reviewing the scientific justification of its 2004 risk  assessment in light of the Panel findings in the 
Japan-Apples case, its phytosanitary import policy mi ght improve.  The representative of the United 
States recalled that the major plant pest of concer n was fire blight.  As mentioned earlier, a WTO 
dispute settlement Panel had recently found that stri ngent control requirements were not justified on G/SPS/R/37 
Page 6  
 
 the basis of the available scientif ic evidence, which clearly demons trated that mature symptomless 
apple fruit did not pose a risk of transmitting fire b light.  He encouraged Australia to expeditiously 
modify its existing import prohibitions on apples and other fruits due to fire blight concerns.  The 
representative of Chile requested to be kept  informed of any progress on this issue. 
15. The representative of Australia reminded the Co mmittee that recent changes to Australia's 
biosecurity agency had caused some delays in the ti me taken to complete a number of risk analyses.  
Australia was committed to deliver a science-based  risk assessment for New-Zealand apples as soon 
as possible.  This risk analysis, currently in progress, addressed a number of quarantine concerns 
about pests and diseases in addition to fire blight.  Australia was committed to bringing this matter to 
an expeditious conclusion.    
EC's Eurep/Gap requirements for bananas 
16. The representative of St. Vincent and the Gren adines reported that, as part of the African 
Caribbean and Pacific group of countries,  St. Vin cent and the Grenadines had benefited significantly 
from the assistance provided by the European Communities for the exports of bananas and other fresh 
agricultural produce to the EC market.  However, the Eurep/Gap certification, introduced in 1997,  
had now been made a condition for continued trade between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the 
United Kingdom's supermarke ts.  In St. Vincent and the Grenadines' view, SPS measures were to be 
introduced by governments and not private entities or  non-governmental organizations.  Some of the 
measures dealt with in the Eurep/Gap certification programme were clearly within the scope of the 
SPS Agreement.  St. Vincent and th e Grenadines therefore enquired if these measures were part of the 
EC general food law or if they we re private entity requirements.  
17. The representative of Jamaica indicated that Ja maica was experiencing similar problems with 
the Eurep/Gap requirements for fresh fruit and vege table entry into the Eur opean Communities. Since 
a reading of the EC food and feed regulation indicated that the Eurep/Gap requirements were private sector requirements, Jamaica asked what rec ourse was available to exporting countries.  
18. The representative of the European Communities clarified that Eurep/Gap was not an EC 
body nor one of its member States.  It was a private sector consortium representing the interests of 
major retailers.  In no case could Eurep/Gap requireme nts be presented as EC requirements.  Even if 
these standards, in certain cases, exceeded the requi rements of EC SPS standards,  the EC could not 
object to them as they did not conflict with EC legisl ation.  This  issue was one the EC was willing to 
discuss at the information seminar to be held on 19 July 2005 in Brussels.  The representative of the 
European Communities encouraged developing countr ies, particularly LDCs, to discuss this issue 
with non-governmental organizations since, in many respects, the Eurep/Gap requirements reflected 
their concerns.  The current accumulation of such standards constituted an opportunity to emphasize 
the value of official standards, since privat e standards were often much more demanding.  
19. The representative of Peru enquired about th e interpretation of Article 13 of the SPS 
Agreement which referred to its im plementation by, inter alia, non-governmental entities within the 
territory of the Member.  The representative of Ec uador noted that, as an exporting country, Ecuador 
was following the impact of this issue upon tr ade towards the European Communities.  The 
representative of Mexico indicated that SPS measures as defined in Annex A were the core of the SPS 
Agreement.  It was only when these measures we re adopted by governmental authorities that a 
Member had the obligation to ensure that govern mental and non-governmental entities involved were 
implementing them properly, as provided for in  Article 13. Annex 3 of the TBT Agreement 
established a code a good practice for non-government al standard-setting ins titutions developing food 
quality standards.  This code had been accepted by many of these organizations.  He suggested that it 
could be interesting for the SPS Committee to take a look at these provisions of the TBT Agreement 
before reaching any conclusion on this issue.   G/SPS/R/37 
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 20. The representative of Argentina recalled that  the international community had generated 
international agreements to ensure that trade sta ndards were not unnecessarily stringent so as to act as 
barriers to international trade and countries had devoted time and financial and human resources to 
attend all the international meetings  where standards were discussed, developed and implemented.  If 
the private sector was going to have unnecessarily restrictive standards affecting trade and countries 
had no forum where to advocate some rationalization of these standards, twenty years of discussions 
in international fora would have been wasted.  Th e representative of Argentina was convinced that the 
rational and legal aspects of these kinds of regulations had to be addressed.  
US import procedures for fruits and vegetables 
21. The representative of the European Communities hi ghlighted the concerns of EC exporters of 
fruits and vegetables experiencing very lengthy in spection procedures from APHIS.  Because of the 
highly perishable nature of the pr oducts, the delays often resulted in commercial losses.  APHIS also 
required that only US-produced pesticides be used  during cultivation, some of which were not 
permitted within the European Communities.  The Eu ropean Communities invited the United States to 
consider the use of equivalent pesticides.  Cert ain insects used to protect  crops in the European 
Communities were not allowed entry into the United St ates.  Other concerns included, inter alia, cold 
treatment import requirements and pre-clearance in spection procedures.  The European Communities 
was willing to continue bilateral discussion on this issue in order to achieve better market access in 
the near future.  
22. The representative of the United States replied that US import procedures were operated in a 
transparent and WTO-consistent manner.  Levels of pesticide residues on fruits coming into the 
United States had to be approved by the US Envir onmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Pesticides did 
not have to be produced in the United States, but to be registered on the EPA list of authorized pesticides.  The United States imported very substa ntial volumes of fresh fruits and vegetables from 
about 150 countries.  The value of imports had in creased by 97 per cent over the past ten years, 
demonstrating that the United States was a grow ing market for fruits and vegetables produced around 
the world.  
23. The representative of Argentina described the case of markets not attractive enough for the 
private sector to register a pesticide, so that no speci fic limit was fixed for the level of residues of this 
pesticide.  On sanitary grounds, the default limit was  zero or close to zero, which equalled prohibiting 
the products.  This problem affected many countri es.  The maximum limits established by the Codex 
Alimentarius, which had a reasonable scientific foundation, should be the ones used by default in such 
cases.  Should countries wish to change them, they  would have to provide some justification. 
Japan's import restrictions on EC ex ports of plant and animal products 
24. The representative of the European Communities raised concerns with regard to Japanese 
phytosanitary administrative procedures governing th e approval of agricultural imports.  Although the 
issue had been previously raised on a bilateral b asis, little progress had been noted.  The procedures 
were time consuming and not always fully transpar ent.  To list a new variety of plant products, EC 
exporters were facing delays of two to three years.   The approval procedure for one plant was usually 
not valid for similar varieties although, in terms of plant health risk, there was almost no differences 
between them.  The European Comm unities requested that any future application for similar plant 
species with similar plant production systems and pest status be considered as an extension of the 
original application. This request was proportionate  to the risk and would contribute to reducing both 
human and financial efforts by both trade partne rs.  Other issues of concerns to the European 
Communities included, inter alia , Japanese inspection procedures in the exporting country, strong 
phytosanitary import regulations and a system of zer o-tolerance for all pests not included in Japan's 
list of non-quarantine organisms.  With regard to the animal sector, disease-free status recognition and G/SPS/R/37 
Page 8  
 
 health import certification were difficult.  The re presentative of the European Communities thanked 
Japan for its efforts made the previous year to a ddress EC concerns, but invited Japan to review its 
internal administrative SPS procedures to make them more efficient and transparent.  The 
representative of Brazil also expressed concern regarding Japanese approval procedures for plant 
varieties.  
25. The representative of Japan explained that he c ould not give any decisive response to the EC 
concerns as he was not sure if the Japanese admini strative procedures were indeed the source of the 
problem.  Japan had already taken the necessary step s to fully comply with the SPS Agreement and a 
number of EC exports of fruits a nd vegetables were currently entering the Japanese market.  However, 
Japan remained open to discuss with the EC any specific issue justified by facts and figures in order to 
identify the source of the problem.  
Mexico's restrictions on US poultry 
26. The representative of the United States info rmed the Committee that Mexico was banning 
imports of poultry and poultry products from an en tire US state in which cases of low pathogenic 
avian influenza (LPAI) had been reported in some ar eas.  Mexico also required avian influenza (AI) 
testing for layer and broiler flocks regardless of whether or not AI had been reported.  Only two 
subtypes of AI (H5 and H7) had been found to mutate  into the highly pathogenic forms of the disease. 
Low pathogenic strains of AI did not cause system ic disease and had not been shown to be of 
consequence for animal health or food safety.  The OIE did not recommend any trade restrictions on 
poultry and poultry products when cases of low pathog enic strains of AI of non-H5 and H7 subtypes 
were reported and only limited measures for low path ogenic strains of the H5 and H7 subtypes.  The 
relevant scientific evidence showed that the LPAI vi rus did not appear in the muscle tissue of an 
infected chicken and that neither fresh meat nor eggs imported from re gions affected by low 
pathogenic AI posed a risk of transmitting the disease.  Given the scientific evidence underpinning the recently adopted changes in the re levant international standard, th e United States encouraged Mexico 
to modify its import restrictions and testing requirements.  
27. The representative of Canada indicated concerns  related to a case of high pathogenic avian 
influenza (HPAI) which had occurred last year.  In March 2004, Mexico had banned the importation 
of poultry and its products from all of Canada in response to the findings of HPAI in British Colombia.  Canada had kept all tr ading partners fully informed of the control measures it had imposed 
to limit the outbreak to British Colombia.  Unlike many of its trading partners, Mexico had not regionalized its measures to apply to British Colombia  only.  Canada had now been free of HPAI for 
over one year and had provided all the information requested by Mexi co to verify this status in 
accordance with OIE guidelines.  Consistent with the OIE, the majority of Canada's trading partners 
had removed their measures against Canadian poultry.   Canada called upon Mexico to do the same.  
28. The representative of Mexico explained that  since May 1994, when one subtype of low 
pathogenic avian influenza had been detected in  Mexico, specific SPS measu res targeted to this 
subtype had been applied.  Mexican official sta ndard 44700/1995, applying to any kind of subtype, 
both low and high pathogenic strains, had been adopted In 1995.  In the United States various subtypes of low and high pathogenic strains had been  officially identified.  Some of these subtypes 
did not exist at the moment in Mexican poultry.  Sanitary requirements for imports of poultry products 
from the affected US states were equivalent to those applied in the Mexican poultry sector, except for 
the epidemiologic surveillance and the control of movements of poultry and poultry products.  As the 
risk of transmission of AI was particularly high  in live poultry and less in its products and by-
products, importation of some poultry products from th e quarantined states was allowed.  Mexico was 
analyzing the technical information provided by the United States in order to restore access for imports of poultry and all by-products. This add itional information had been provided to USDA in 
early 2005.   G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 9 
 
 
 29. The representative of Mexico recalled that at  the general session of May 2005, the OIE had 
established new standards for AI in both its high and low pathogenic forms.  These new standards 
established that all kinds of H7 and H5 avian in fluenza in both its high and low pathogenic strains 
should be notified and that states or zones free of avian influenza and free of the notifiable high and low pathogenic forms of the disease could be identified.   In accordance with Article 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3 
of the SPS Agreement, Mexico had established th e health requirements for exporting poultry and 
poultry by-products originating from areas free of av ian influenza and free of the notifiable high and 
low pathogenic forms of the disease.  Mexico current ly allowed imports of po ultry, poultry products 
and by-products from the United States, except fo r live birds and some products from the states 
affected by certain subtypes of AI.  Regarding Ca nada, the representative of Mexico explained that 
British Colombia had been quarantin ed for H7 and H3 highly pathogenic strains of avian influenza 
last year and that Mexico was still waiting to receive technical information allowing it to lift the quarantine restrictions.  Mexico had recently been  notified that certain other subtypes of avian 
influenza strains had been identified in  some sectors of British Colombia.  
Chinese Taipei's BSE-related import restrictions on non-ruminant products 
30. The representative of the United States raised  concerns regarding the BSE-related import 
prohibition imposed by Chinese Taipei on non-ruminant rendered meals except fishmeal and all spray-dried animal products except dairy products and certain porcine products made in specified 
plants.  For over five years, the United States had be en providing significant scientific information to 
the animal health authorities of  Chinese Taipei to allow the resu mption of this trade.  Despite 
continuous technical dialogue, the problem remained .  Chinese Taipei had not provided any scientific 
justification explaining why it was resorting to  measures exceeding the relevant international 
standards.  The United States urged Chinese Taipei  to lift its import ban on non-ruminant products 
and implement measures cons istent with the OIE Code.  Thanks to  bilateral discussions with Chinese 
Taipei's representatives during the previous days, the United States and Chinese Taipei were on the 
verge of finding a mutually satisfactory solution.  
31. The representative of the European Communiti es requested that Chinese Taipei and other 
countries fully adopt the new recommendations of the OIE Code.  The European Communities had explained to Chinese Taipei the EC procedures current ly in place for ensuring the safety of beef.  The 
new clearer and simpler provisions of the OIE Co de specifically allowed trade of beef products 
derived from deboned skeletal muscle meat from animals under 30 months.  The European Communities urged Chinese Taipei to extend this provision to EC exports.  
32. The representative of Chinese Taipei replied th at Chinese Taipei had engaged in bilateral 
dialogue with the US government on these issues on sev eral occasions.  She pointed out that Chinese 
Taipei's concerns focused primarily on the possib ility of cross-contamination with material of 
ruminant origin.  Therefore the implementation of  the US system needed careful evaluation and 
should be verified by on-site inspections.  Based on risk analysis results, the importation of fish 
products, hydrolysed proteins derived from proc essing meals, spray-dried proteins and plasma 
proteins from the United States were not currently  prohibited.  Chinese Taipei's SPS measures were 
designed to ensure the safe trade of animal and anim al products in accordance with the concept of an 
appropriate level of protection a nd did not exceed the OIE guidelines.  Chinese Taipei was seeking a 
solution to the issue with the United States.  Rega rding the EC concern on beef, the representative of 
Chinese Taipei would convey the message her aut horities and respond to the European Communities 
in writing.  
  G/SPS/R/37 
Page 10  
 
 Japan's import suspension on heat-processed straw and forage for feed  
33. The representative of China recalled that, followi ng an FMD outbreak in May 2005 in a few 
provinces, China had notified both the OIE and the Japanese embassy in Chin a of the outbreak and 
the control measures in place which had brought the epidemic under control.  To prevent the 
introduction of FMD, Japan had issued an overall im port suspension of straw and forage for feed from 
China at the end of May 2005.  In China's view, si nce the straw and forage to be exported to Japan 
originated from FMD-free areas, Japan's ban violated  the principle of regionalization as laid down in 
Article 6.1 of the SPS Agreement.  In addition, as the Chinese straw and forage to be exported to 
Japan were processed in line with Japan's animal health requirements, Japan's ban violated its own 
requirements.  Straw and forage heat treatment companies were inspected and designated by the 
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of  Japan.  The heat treatment, under joint monitoring 
of Chinese and Japanese inspectors, was more than sufficient to kill FMD viruses.  Japan's ban lacked 
scientific evidence and violated Article 2.2 of the SPS Agreement.  China re quested Japan to lift the 
ban.  China was willing to provide the necessary in formation but wanted to emphasize that all trade 
should not be affected by a regional problem.  Ch ina invited Japan to come to China at its 
convenience for the necessary controls and for di scussion with the competent departments.   
34. The representative of Japan recalled that Japan  had suspended imports of heat-processed 
straw and forage from China at the end of May 2 005 to respond to repetitive detection of faeces in 
imported straw and intentional replacement of heat-treat ed with non heat-treated straw, in violation of 
Japan's animal health requirements and of Article  2.2.10.28 of the OIE Code. These products were 
accompanied by the genuine Chinese animal health authorities certificate, in violation of paragraph 6 
of Article 1.3.4.72 of the OIE Code.  Considering th e recent rapid spread of FMD in China, Japan had 
decided to suspend the importation of heat-proces sed straw and forage until the Chinese Government 
addressed these issues.  Japan had not yet recei ved any satisfactory response from the Chinese 
Government, which was responsible for issuing the export certificate.  Japan had not yet received any 
epidemiological information on the FMD status  of the export facilities for heated straw.  
EC geographical BSE risk assessment classification of India 
35. The representative of India indicated that the EC  categorization of India in the suspected list 
of the geographical BSE risk assessment (GBR) had been a deep cause of c oncern.  The assumptions 
made by the European Communities while conducting the risk assessment needed to be reconsidered, 
as BSE had never been reported in Indian cattle a nd buffalos.  Moreover, feeding practices in India 
did not allow feed of ruminant origin.  India had also provided the European Communities with all the 
technical information required, including, inter alia , health profiles of imported cattle for the last 20 
years.  All these facts clearly demonstrated the n eed to upgrade India's status to GBR1.  India had 
made these concerns known to the European Communities on several occasions, including at the 
bilateral meeting held on 28 June 2005.  The EC categorization had the potential to disrupt India's 
beef trade not only with EC member States but also with its other trading partners.  India strongly 
urged the European Communities to undertake the reassessment of India's GBR status as a priority.   
36. The representative of the European Communities replied that the BSE import regime in 
relation to beef and beef products was proportio nate, non discriminatory and science-based.  The 
recent findings of BSE in both the United States  and Canada had led to no measures from the 
European Communities.  The Eu ropean Communities had put in place a framework which allowed 
EC member States to trade beef and beef products in  accordance with strict scientific criteria.  The 
system had been introduced due to insufficient progress in the OIE with the development of an 
international framework on trade in beef and beef products and BSE.  In that context, the European 
Communities welcomed the recent agreement in the OIE on a revised Terrestrial Animal Health Code 
and encouraged all OIE members, including India,  to work towards country classifications, which 
would allow the European Communities to abandon its classification.  The representative of the  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 11 
 
 
 European Communities clarified that India's existi ng classification would not be revisited since it had 
been carried out on an independent basis by EC scientists.  India was categorized as GBR 2, which 
was a relatively attractive category allowing trade to take place with minimal safeguard measures.  If 
the OIE failed to classify countries, the Eur opean Communities would reconsider the existing 
classification of third countries, including India.  The European Communities sympathised with 
India's problems in relation to the use of  the EC classification system by third countries for their own 
trade.  The European Communities did not en courage such practices by third countries.  
Japan's import requirements for Indian mangoes 
37. The representative of India stated that although India had many years ago provided the pest 
and surveillance data and the information on treat ment standards requested  by Japanese authorities, 
the pest risk analysis had not yet been complete d. At a bilateral meeting with Japan, India had 
expressed its deep concerns that the extremely slow progress made so far was impinging heavily on India's market access for mangoes to Japan.  Anothe r round of bilateral techni cal consultations was to 
be held in mid-July 2005.  India hoped to raise th is issue and urged Japan to make genuine efforts to 
conclude the technical process of the risk assessment in the shortest time possible.  
38. The representative of Japan explained that Japan was taking the necessary measures to 
prevent a possible invasion of the melon fly and tw o other pests which, according to the scientific 
literature, had been recorded in India but were not present in Japan.  Japan had to implement measures 
to verify the disease status of Indian mangoes or th e application of a technically certified effective 
disinfestation treatment in accordance with relevant  international standards.  Technical discussions 
were currently ongoing between Indian and Japanese experts in order to develop the disinfestation 
technique, but the technical data provided were  not sufficient to allow certification of the 
effectiveness of the technique.  These points woul d be discussed at the technical meetings in July. 
Panama's inspection regime for meat products (G/SPS/GEN/582) 
39. The representative of Costa Rica noted that due  to Panama's new inspection system, notified 
in April 2005 as G/SPS/N/PAN/43, several Costa Rican firms were experiencing problems in trying to 
export milk and animal products to Panama.  Panama  had changed its rules regarding the inspection of 
plants without prior notification to the WTO, without  allowing for an adaptation period.  In spite of 
the fact that the Costa Rican en terprises already had certifications from the Panamanian Ministry of 
Health for exports of sweetened milk and animal pr oducts to Panama, according to the new rules they 
also had to undergo inspection by the Ministry of Agriculture.  The Costa Rican firms had requested 
the Panamanian authorities, unsuccessfully to date , to avoid the second inspection.  Costa Rica had 
also requested that Panama provide the risk asse ssment and scientific jus tification supporting the 
consistency of this new requirement with the SPS Ag reement.  Costa Rica did not question Panama's 
right to establish SPS measures, but was concerned by this new double sanitary inspection for highly 
industrialized products such as sweetened and condensed milk. 
40. The representatives of Argentina, Canada, Co lombia, the European Communities and the 
United States reported experiencing similar difficu lties accessing the Panamanian market.  Argentina 
reported that it was experiencing sanitary difficulties in relation to FMD and bureaucratic difficulties 
which did not seem to be designed to protect animal  health in Panama (paras. 173-174 refer).  The 
European Communities had suddenly been faced with a new Panamanian health legislation referring, 
firstly, to a system which seemed to link obtaining an import license for Panama to a payment and, 
secondly, to an inspection system which would be  paid for by the exporting country.  The United 
States recalled an issue raised at the March mee ting of the Committee concerning the expansion of 
Panama's inspection programme to most food pr ocessing establishments and the non notification of 
this significant change in Panama's import regime .  Canada had been experiencing problems with 
Panama's requirement for plant-by-plant approv als for meat exports and the recent changes to 
Panama's inspection regime.  G/SPS/R/37 
Page 12  
 
 41. The representative of Panama reminded the Committe e that it was the first time that this issue 
of plant inspection was raised by Costa Rica befo re the SPS Committee and explained that he would 
convey Costa Rica's comments to the competent aut horities.  Panama's inspection regime followed the 
fundamental principles of the SPS Agreement and of  OIE and IPPC standards.  Risk assessment 
methods comprised two parts:  the protection of the Panama's health status and the functioning of the 
Ministry of Agriculture.  The excellent quality of Panama's exports of cattle  and dairy products was 
due to a stringent application of the SPS measure s domestically and to imports.  Because of its 
geographical situation as a hub for world trade, Pana ma was exposed to a greater risk of introduction 
of pest and animal diseases and therefore had to undertake a risk assessment prior to authorizing 
imports from countries affected by exotic di seases.  The risk assessme nt undertaken by the 
Panamanian authorities would shortly be given to the Costa Rican delegation.  
Brazil's lack of recognition of regionalization and disease-free status for classical swine fever 
42. The representative of the European Communities recalled concerns that Brazil's lack of 
recognition of regionalization and disease-free status for several animal diseases, including classical 
swine fever (CSF) was adversely affecting EC pi g products exports to Brazil.  The European 
Communities had always recognised regionalization and, in the case of Brazil, on various occasions 
and for several animal diseases including FMD.  Th e European Communities had previously provided 
all the necessary information and evidence rega rding which EC regions could safely export pig 
products and had provided access to importing WTO Members for inspection and other procedures in 
accordance with Article 6.3 of the SPS Agreement.  French pig products exports to Brazil were 
experiencing restrictions, although the domestic EC  pig population was free of CSF according to OIE 
standards, since the virus was present only in  the wild boar population.  CSF in France was 
epidemiologically under control, with strict veteri nary and police surveillance and systems for animal 
identification and traceability.  The European Communities urged Brazil to respond quickly and 
positively to legitimate requests for the application of  the principle of regionalization for CSF to EC 
member States. 
43. The representative of Brazil responded that Brazi l's measures regarding regionalization for 
CSF in the European Communities were based on an  assessment of the risks for disease spread, taking 
into account the size of the proposed CSF-fre e area and considering the epidemiological 
characteristics of the disease agen t.  These control measures were scientifically supported by Article 
2.6.7.3 of the 2004 OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code.  Moreover, the disease agent could be found 
in the wild boar population, which made more di fficult the establishment of control measures for a 
proposed disease-free area.  The probability of the C SF agent spreading to domestic pigs had to be 
considered.  During the last bilateral meeting held  in Brussels in April 2005, Brazil had proposed the 
establishment of a bilateral expert working group to de fine risk analysis criteria related to equivalent 
regionalization procedures.  The Brazilian sanitary  authorities were currently working with the 
bilateral expert group in order to  define criteria. Brazil had a re gular and continuous CSF-free zone 
which covered almost all commercial swine herds.  
44. The representative of the OIE clarified that the OIE Code for CSF included recommendations 
for the importation of several pig products from countries or zones free from CSF in the domestic population where there the disease was present in th e wild population.  The OIE Code did not 
recommend banning imports of such material.  
(b) Issues previously raised 
Thailand - Regulation 11 
45. The representative of the United States recalled that Thailand had notified revisions to Rule 
11 on 23 May 2005, leaving only 38 days for WTO Members to provide comments.  The United  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 13 
 
 
 States believed that this was not a sufficient delay fo r exporters to become familiar with the changes, 
nor did it provide sufficient time for Members to de velop comments, or for Thailand to consider the 
comments that WTO Members might have provided.  The United States still had substantial concerns 
about the scientific basis for Thailand's categorization of many US products in Rule 11 as "high risk".  
It was also still not clear whether Thailand w ould require certification and testing on domestic 
products.  On 24 June 2005, the United States had b een informed that the implementation of Rule 11 
would be delayed until 31 December 2005.  The United States appreciated these developments and 
encouraged the Thai authorities to discuss Rule 11 and to develop measures consistent with the SPS 
Agreement to manage the risks that might be documented. 
46. The representative of Japan mentioned that Jap an appreciated the intention of the Thai 
government in introducing this new rule as a part of a national strategic plan on food.  However, a 
regulation such as Rule 11, aimed at strengthening  the control measures for the safety and quality of 
domestic and imported food, should be based on a science-based ri sk assessment and the working 
principles for risk analysis applied by the Codex Alimentarius.  In order to avoid unjustified trade 
barriers, risk management should ensure transparen cy and consistency in the decision-making process 
in all cases.  Japan requested information about th e relationship between the proposed regulation and 
the related international standards. 
47. The representative of Thailand replied that the food standards that would be applied 
throughout the country complied with the relevant  international standards.  Requiring a health 
certificate was the best option to alleviate the burden on importers at the border and was in compliance with Codex standards.  Thailand had tried its best to address most of the comments 
received from Members since the first notification of Ru le 11.   Some food sta ndards inconsistent with 
the Codex had been withdrawn, pending further scien ce-based evaluation.  An official from the Thai 
Ministry of Health had accompanied the Thai delegation in order to meet with WTO Members concerned about Rule 11.  
India – Non-notification of various SPS measures 
48. The representative of the United States remi nded the Committee that although India had 
informed the United States of changes to improve  its coordination on SPS issues, the United States 
continued to discover non-notified SPS measures implemented by Indian departments.  This practice 
was causing unnecessary trade disruption on an in creasingly broader array of commodities and the 
occurrences of India's failure to notify measures were increasing.  The United States requested once 
again that India meet its obligations and no tify new and revised food regulations and import 
conditions.   
49. The representative of the European Communiti es noted that the Eur opean Communities had 
also been adversely affected by India's lack of  notification of some SPS rules governing imports of 
agricultural products. Progress made by India in te rms of transparency had been limited to the 
phytosanitary sector; legislation governing animal health and production were not systematically 
notified. The European Communities invited Indi a to address this lack of transparency.  
50. The representative of India explained that the Indian Department of Commerce had been 
working with various concerned departments to verify if the transparency provisions were 
implemented.  With a view to better addressing the responsibilities outlined in the SPS Agreement, 
the Indian Government had recently established thre e separate enquiry points with clearly delineated 
responsibilities.  This information had been circ ulated to Members.  These efforts had achieved 
greater coordination among agencies, as could be demonstrated by the number of recent notifications 
that had been submitted at an early stage in the development of the regulation and with a due period 
for comments.  G/SPS/R/37 
Page 14  
 
 Argentina - Import restrictions on semen and bovine embryos due to BSE 
51. The representative of the European Communities recalled that exports of bovine semen from 
some EC member States to Argentina were still suffer ing restrictions.  According to OIE rules, bovine 
semen should not be subjected to restrictions rega rdless of the BSE status of the exporting country.  
The European Communities invited Argentinean authorities to replace their national bans by specific 
import requirements compliant with OIE standards a nd to finalize negotiations with the concerned EC 
member States in order to resume trade of bovine semen and embryos. 
52. The representative of Argentina replied that Ar gentina was in the process of adjusting its 
legislation to the new OIE directive adopted  in May 2005. The European Communities was 
Argentina's most important trading partner; im ports from the European Communities amounted to 
more than 4 billion dollars.  Argentina was current ly working bilaterally w ith several EC member 
States to resolve the issue of export certificates. 
Japan - Restrictions on beef  imports  
53. The representative of the United States emphasized that the issue of Japan's restrictions on 
beef imports was of considerable urgency as Japan w as a vital market for US beef, valued at over 1.7 
billion dollars annually.  This issue had been the su bject of numerous bilateral discussions.  Over the 
past 17 months, the United States had provided Japan  with extensive technical information on all 
aspects of its BSE-related protection measures,  internationally recognized as effective and 
appropriate, for both food safety and animal health.  Japan had not provided any scientific justification 
for these measures which went beyond the relevant  international standards.  The United States 
appreciated Japan's recent proposal to exempt ca ttle younger than 21 months of age from testing and 
the current review of the proposed changes to the import regulation by Japan's Food Safety 
Commission.  However, the United States stressed that according to the revised OIE standards, the 
recent detection of one BSE-infected animal blocke d from the food and feed chain could not be used 
as an excuse to restrict imports of US beef pr oducts.  The United States urged the Food Safety 
Commission to complete its review expeditiously. 
54. The representative of the European Communiti es recalled that the revised OIE standard 
provided for deboned skeletal muscle meat to be sa fely traded under certain conditions regardless of 
the BSE status of the exporting country.  The European Communities therefore invited Japan to 
replace its import ban with specific requirements in accordance with OIE standards.  
55. The representative of Japan reported that Japan 's Food Safety Commission had completed the 
risk assessment on domestic beef on 6 May 2005 and was now carrying out the risk assessment on US 
beef.  Japan was now hoping for the expeditious settlement of this issue. 
Australia - Import restrictions on EC pig meat and pig meat products 
56. The representative of the European Communiti es informed the Committee that thanks to 
intensive bilateral discussions with Australia, certain EC products might  soon be allowed into 
Australia.  Any real progress beyond this had been hampered by the extreme measures taken by 
Australia to avoid the introduction of porcine multi-systemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), closely 
associated with the virus PCV2 which was present in Australia.  A joint expert working group had 
been established to look at ways of restoring trade while protecting Australia from the introduction of PMWS.  A recent court case in Australia had ruled th at the risk measures for PMWS protection laid 
down in the Australian risk assessment were not scientifically based and that no import permits relying on these measures would be issued.  C onsequently, the European Communities and other 
WTO Members where PMWS was presen t were unable to expand the range of products authorized for 
export to Australia.  There was also a risk that existing licenses, valid only for two years, would not  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 15 
 
 
 be renewed in July 2006.  The European Communiti es was grateful to the Australian Government for 
its effort to reduce the impact of this ruling and fo r their appeal of the court decision.  The European 
Communities hoped that this would very  soon result in continuous trade.  
57. The representatives of Canada and the United States expressed appreciation for the Australian 
Government's appeal of the court decision and the efforts to minimize its trade impact.  Canada had 
been engaged with Australia in technical-level discu ssions relating to the existing measures related to 
PMWS and hoped that the Australian Government would continue to honour the existing import 
permits and would maintain a science-based appro ach to imports.  The representative of Canada 
expressed concern about the future implications of the fact that Australian was not issuing any new 
import permits.  Canada  acknowledged continuous collabora tion between the Canadian and 
Australian governments on this issue.  However, the uncertainty of the situation was disrupting trade 
and Canada encouraged the Australian Government to bring the matter to an early close.  The 
representative of the United States noted that the Unit ed States had been able to export pork products 
to Australia under very stringent conditions for one year.  Since during that time trade had grown very 
significantly, the United States was very concerne d about the outcome of the recent court case in 
Australia.  The United States would follow  the judicial proceedings closely. 
58. The representative of Australia confirmed that the Australian Government's policy 
determination for the import of pig meat, complete d in May 2004, had been the subject of a legal 
challenge in the Federal Court of Australia, whic h focused on the conditions for the import of pig 
meat from countries where PMWS was present.  As a result, one import permit had been revoked, the 
remaining 83 had been maintained, but Australia  was unable to issue any new permits.  The 
Australian Government had appealed this judgement and was seeking an expedited hearing.  Australia 
welcomed the favourable comments made by its trad ing partners on the manner in which it had been 
managing this issue.  
Venezuela – Restrictions on imports of potatoes,  onions, fertilised eggs, day-old chicks and meat 
products  
59. The representative of Canada indicated that Ca nada was concerned with the discretionary 
aspects of Venezuela's policy for the issuance of import permits.  Without any SPS justification and despite having negotiated a sanitary agreement a few years ago, Venezuelan pork importers had never 
been able to obtain import permits from the Vene zuelan sanitary authorities for Canadian pork.  
Permits for seed or table potatoes had not been issued for long periods of time.  The Canadian 
delegation had met with the Venezuelan delegati on the previous day and a meeting between the 
Canadian embassy and the Venezuelan aut horities had been scheduled in Caracas.   
60. The representative of the United States noted th at Venezuela's restrictive import regime was 
also constraining US agricultural exports.  If th is regime was based on SPS permits as opposed to 
import licenses, as Venezuela had implied in the Import Licensing Committee, Venezuela should explain the risk being addressed through this pe rmit and supply the supporting risk assessment.  
61. The representative of Venezuela took note of Ca nada's concerns, which would be transmitted 
to the Venezuelan authorities.  Bilateral ne gotiations were taking place between Canada and 
Venezuela, in particular with the Ministry of Ag riculture, and Venezuela was willing to continue to 
attempt to achieve an expeditious resolution to this  problem.  With regards to the concerns expressed 
by the United States, Venezuela requested a written co py of the US concerns in order to provide a 
written response. 
 
 G/SPS/R/37 
Page 16  
 
 Australia - Restrictions on imports of fresh table grapes  
62. The representative of Chile recalled concerns with the slow progress of the Australian 
authorization process for imports of Chilean grapes .  Chile had recently been informed that on 24 
June, after a process of consultations and comments, a group of scientists had been established.  Chile 
enquired as to the length of the waiting period for the next step and trusted that, as assured by the 
Australian authorities, the final authorization would be granted before the next grape shipping season 
in mid-October. 
63. The representative of the Europ ean Communities raised concerns  regarding the transparency 
of the Australian quarantine regime for fruits and vegetables, in particular as it was not clear in some 
cases which were the pests of concern and which ri sk mitigation measures had to be taken.  The 
European Communities had also expe rienced long delays before the issuance of a risk assessment 
which had prevented EC exporters from accessing th e Australian market for years. The European 
Communities invited Australia to review its intern al administrative procedure for the approval of 
fruits and vegetable imports.  The representative of  New Zealand mentioned that he was pleased to 
see that perhaps, by the time of the next season, Chile  might be able to export grapes to Australia and 
was looking forward to receive a similar type of assurance from Australia fo r New Zealand's apples. 
64. The representative of Australia assured Chile that Australia was committed to deliver a 
science-based risk assessment as soon as possible and noted that the issue was making good progress.  
European Communities – Deviation from international standard for wood packing material 
65. The representative of the United States emphasized that although the United States 
appreciated the fact that the European Council had suspended the debarking requirement contained in 
Directive 2004/102/EC on wood packaging material until 1 March 2006, the United States was still 
concerned about the pending implemen tation of this new directive.  The directive, in going beyond 
ISPM-15, would affect US agricultural and commerc ial products packaged in wood material exported 
to the European Communities, a trade worth up to 80 billion dollars.  When developing ISPM-15, it 
has been determined that Members might requir e that imported ISPM-15 compliant WPM be bark-
free only if such requirement was technically justified,  as laid down in article VII.2.(a) of the IPPC.  
Accordingly, the United States reiterated its long- standing request that the European Communities 
provide a detailed pest risk analysis or scientific evaluation justifying this additional requirement and 
looked forward to the 19 July meeting mentioned by the European Communities.   
66. The representatives of Canada and the Philippi nes thanked the European Communities for 
delaying the application of the proposed debarki ng requirement for wood packing material Canada 
hoped that the delay would be extended until the I PPC International Forestry Quarantine Research 
Group had reviewed and assessed the technical justifi cation for this requirement. He encouraged other 
countries to be supportive of this IPPC review  process and to await communication of the IPPC 
position before implementing measures on debarking.  The representative of the Philippines noted that 
debarking should not be imposed if the wood packagi ng was already on the market or certified to have 
undergone the approved treatment according to ISPM  15.  He invited Members to wait for further 
information on the EC risk analysis and related technical justification for debarking and emphasized 
that the Philippines would appreciate being informed of any further developments, including on a bilateral basis. 
67. The representative of the Dominican Republic  asked if the European Communities had 
assessed which of their requirements in Directive 2004/102/EC would affect developing countries.  
The representative of Jamaica recalled that the imposition of debarking would present additional 
difficulties to many developing countries which we re already experiencing significant problems in 
trying to meet the requirements of ISPM-15.  Sh e further clarified that many developing countries 
exported extensively to the European Communities and urged the European Communities to suspend 
the debarking requirement on a permanent basis.   G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 17 
 
 
 68. The representative of Argentina mentioned that the text of the ISPM-15 did not include the 
concerns expressed by Members regarding criteria such as volume or percentage of debarking.  Argentina was not sure that a quarantine treatme nt was 100 per cent effective in cases where there 
was a very high percentage of debarked wood and where the bark was not easily separated from the 
wood.  A working group in the IPPC was worki ng on precisely this issue of debarking.  The 
representative of Chile explained that Chile was al so looking forward to the outcome of the IPPC 
working group on debarking.  
69. The representative of the Europ ean Communities recalled that the European Commission had 
been very careful to notify the measure to the SPS Committee almost one year before its adoption by 
the European Council (G/SPS/N/EEC/221 and Add. 1-3; G/SPS/GEN/556).  Although the European 
Communities was satisfied with the scientific b asis for the debarking requirement of Directive 
2004/102/EC, it had postponed its entry into for ce as a consequence of the numerous comments 
received from several Members with regard to the pot ential for very serious disruption of trade, in 
order to review and strengthen its scientific jus tification.  The European Commission was currently 
putting together a technical dossier consisting of a re view of the technical literature, further laboratory 
research and the review of import surveillance of wood packaging material, with the intention of 
presenting that technical dossier to the IPPC Inte rnational Forestry Quarantine Research Group in 
November 2005.  The representative of the IPPC c onfirmed that a standard on the guidelines for 
debarked and bark-free wood was currently under development. 
United States - Import restrictions on potted plants from the European Communities 
70. The representative of the European Communiti es recalled that on 27 April 2005, the US 
authorities had notified as G/SPS/N/USA/1059 a draft rule proposing the inclusion of two species 
from the Netherlands and Denmark in the conditiona l positive list of plants established in approved 
growing media that might be imported into the Un ited States.  The European Communities welcomed 
the progress made on this issue and requested that new applications for similar species from similar 
production systems or country pest status be treated as an extension of this proposed rule.  This 
request was legitimate, proportionate to the risk and trade facilitating by nature.  The European 
Communities invited the United States to pu blish the final rule as soon as possible. 
71. The representative of the United States indicated th at the comment period for its draft rule had 
closed on 27 June 2005.  The United States requested a written copy of the EC statement to further consider its request.  However, considering any additi ons or revisions to a proposed rule that had been 
both notified and published might slow down final action.   
(c) Consideration of Specific Notifications Received 
United Kingdom's proposed regulations for pi per methysticum (kava-kava) (G/SPS/N/GBR/4). 
72. The representative of Fiji expressed concerns regarding the UK notification of emergency 
measures on kava-kava, as kava-kava was one of Fiji 's few tradable crops of economic significance.  
Fiji's concerns were related to the request of the UK Commission on Safety of Medicines to prohibit 
kava-kava use in unlicensed medicinal products on the grounds that the CSM had sufficient evidence 
to conclude that kava-kava was associated with rare  cases of liver toxicity.  According to an in-depth 
investigation of kava-kava products  conducted by a German consulting firm in 2003, the efficacy and 
safety of kava-kava had been proven by 20 clinical  trials including more than 10,000 patients and 
supported by post-marketing experience in Europe, the United States and other areas.  Health 
authorities such as the US Food and Drug Administra tion agreed that kava-kava was a safe drug. 
Findings also showed that should the toxicity exis t, it would occur in an extremely low number of 
patients far below the incident rate observed with  other freely available drugs.  Out of 450 million 
kava-kava pills exported all over the word betw een 1990 and 2000, only three cases of liver problems G/SPS/R/37 
Page 18  
 
 had been linked to the pills.  The Fiji kava-kav a council was currently drafting a legislative text 
including, inter alia , standards, certification and labelling to ensure consistency and quality of supply.  
Fiji would be very grateful if the UK delegation could provide any new evidence that supported the 
claim that the consumption of products containi ng kava-kava was associated with liver damage. 
73. The European Communities recalled that the re gulation banning kava-kava had come into 
force in England and Scotland in 2003 following report s of rare but serious risks to public health and 
review of evidence by independent experts in 2002.  Similar regulations for Northern Ireland had been 
planned at the time but only notified on 14 June 2005.   A similar notification for Wales was also due 
to be issued soon.  The Food Standard Agency  of the United Kingdom had recently requested new 
evidence on kava-kava in order to review its position.  
(d) Information on Resolution of Issues 
74. The Chairman recalled the importance of providing  reports on the resolution of issues in order 
to better track the effectiveness of the operation of the Agreement.  
Some WTO Members – Import restrictions on EC bovines and bovine products  
75. The representative of the Europ ean Communities informed the Co mmittee that during the last 
months, the number of countries that had lifted their respective bans on EC bovines and bovine 
products in accordance with OIE standards had been  regularly growing, including also non-Members 
of the WTO.  The European Communities reminde d Members that, according to the revised BSE 
chapter of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code , many bovine derivate products, including deboned 
skeletal muscle and blood products, could be safel y traded regardless of the BSE status of the 
exporting country.  In light of the positive ac tions taken by numerous WTO Members and non-
Members, the European Communities invited the remaining WTO Members to replace their import 
bans with specific import requirements in accord ance with OIE standards.  Oman, Bahrain and 
Kuweit had decided during the past few months to lift the ban on EC exports of pomace oil without 
further requirements such as certification.  The European Communities was hoping that this would 
allow trade to resume with these three Members very soon. 
76. The representative of the OIE noted the large nu mber of BSE-related c oncerns being raised 
by Members, and observed that this paralleled th e disproportionate amount of time spent on BSE in 
recent OIE General Sessions.  Some of the features of the newly revised chapter on BSE included:  a simpler three-category approach;  a categorisation ba sed on an assessment of the risks presented, due 
to the presence or absence of BSE-related factors, rather than just on the number of cases found;  a 
greater emphasis on commodities traded.  He advise d that a new appendix on  surveillance, allowing 
Members to better show their BSE status to their tr ading partners, had also been adopted.  Both were 
available on the OIE website.  The representative of the OIE reminded the Committee of a paper 
outlining the OIE's concerns over trade disruptions caused by the misinterpretation of its standards 
(G/SPS/GEN/437) and recommended that Members make  themselves familiar with the new standards 
and adopt them as a basis for their import regulations.  
V. OPERATION OF TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS 
77. The Chairman drew Members' attention to the documents circulated by the Secretariat to 
enhance transparency within the context of the SPS Agreement.  These included the most recent list of 
national notification authorities contained in G/SPS/NNA/8, G/SPS/NNA/8/Add.1 and 2; the most recent list of national enquiry points contained in G/SPS/ENQ/18, G/SPS/ENQ/18/Add.1 and 2; an 
update of Members' implementation of th e transparency provisions contained in 
G/SPS/GEN/27/Rev.14 and notifications received since the last meeting of the SPS Committee 
summarized, on a monthly basis, in G/SPS/GEN/559, G/SPS/GEN/560 and G/SPS/GEN/563.  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 19 
 
 
 78. The Secretariat informed the Committee that further to the decision taken at the March 
meeting to update the informati on about Members which had identif ied enquiry points, it had found 
that over 20 Members still failed to meet their basi c obligations of establishing a notification authority 
and an enquiry point.  The Secr etariat had contacted the missions of each of these Members and 
received only three responses.  Burkina Faso had no w identified an enquiry point and a notification 
authority, the Former Yugoslav Republic of M acedonia had completed the information previously 
provided by identifying a notification authority and Niger had notified an enquiry point but no 
notification authority.  In order to assist it finding a better way of getting responses from Members, 
the Secretariat was considering making use of the African Group, since of the 18 Members which had 
not yet completed their basic obligations, 14 were  African.  All Spanish-speaking Members had now 
complied.  
79. The Secretariat reported on the status of de velopment of the SPS information management 
system (SPS-IMS) which had the objective of helpin g the Secretariat to better search and manage the 
documentation received and to allow it to perform mo re searches for Members.  The structure of the 
SPS-IMS was almost completed and the next step woul d be to fill in the historic and current data.  
The Secretariat was hopeful that, by the end of th e year, the SPS-IMS would be operative.  When the 
SPS-IMS would be running, the Secretariat would make it accessible to Members so they could 
perform their own searches.  At a further stage, Members would even be able to directly submit the notifications to the SPS-IMS.  The Secretariat furt her brought to the Committee's attention that the 
WTO was currently releasing its third annual Wo rld Trade Report which focused on an economic 
analysis of the effect of standards, including SPS standards and other requirements, on international 
trade. 
80. The Chairman expressed his appreciation of th e progress of the SPS-IMS and suggested that 
Members begin to think forward about what they woul d like to do with it once it was in operation.  In 
order to assist them in that process, information about the foreseen structure of the SPS-IMS would be 
provided at the next meeting. 
81. The representative of Ecuador reported that Ecua dor had recently made its first notifications 
of all its various SPS and agricultu re laws and regulations, as well as its national standards for wood 
packaging in international trade (G/SPS/N/ECU/1-3) . Ecuador was also making its enquiry point more 
transparent and efficient to have its notifications of proposed laws and regulations verified by other 
Members and to answer their concerns.  This had been carried out with support from IICA.  
82. The representative of India informed the Comm ittee that India had recently sent information 
to Members indicating the establishment of thr ee separated enquiry points on food safety issues, 
animal health and plant health issues (contai ned in G/SPS/ ENQ/18/Rev.2). These three enquiry 
points resulted from an effort to better coordinate with the various relevant  departments concerned 
with SPS issues. 
83. The representative of Dominica mentioned that Dominica was in the process of revising 
legislation on plant protection and animal health and putting in place new pesticide legislation.  
Dominica was also drafting terms of reference fo r a more effective national SPS and food safety 
committee. 
VI. IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL TREATMENT 
(a) Chairman's report on the informal meeting and adoption of the report to the General Council  
84. The Chairman reported that the discussion at the first informal meeting on special and 
differential treatment (S&D) on 27 June had focused  on the draft report to the General Council on the 
proposals for special and differential treatment referred to the Committee by the General Council 
(G/SPS/W/175).  A number of Members had prefaced thei r statements at the first meeting by referring 
back to the mandate which the Committee had to di scharge when reporting to the General Council by 
July 2005.  In particular, reference was made to : G/SPS/R/37 
Page 20  
 
 • Paragraph 44 of the Doha Mini sterial Declaration in which it was agreed that all S&D 
provisions would be reviewed with a view to  strengthening them and making them more 
precise, effective and operational;   
 
• Paragraph 12.1 of the Doha Decision on Implem entation-Related Issues and Concerns;  and 
 
• the Decision of the General Council at the end of July on the Doha Work Programme and to 
refer consideration of specific S&D proposals to subsidiary bodies.   
 85. Egypt, Kenya and India had expressed the view that the draft report confused the provision of 
technical assistance with the obj ective of continued market acce ss through special and differential 
treatment.  In this respect, they felt that there was an over-emphasis in the report on not changing the 
balance of rights and obligations in the SPS Agreem ent.  Egypt considered that an authoritative 
statement on the part of the Committee was not to be confused with re-opening of the SPS 
Agreement.  Egypt further stated that the flex ibility provided by Article 3.3 of the SPS Agreement 
could render technical assistance redundant without e ffective S&D.  The representatives of Kenya and 
Egypt had stated that the Committee had neglected  the Doha Implementation Decision mandate in 
paragraph 12.1(i) to consider the implications  of making non-mandatory special and differential 
treatment provisions mandatory.  The three delegations  had also stated that the draft report had not 
fulfilled the mandate from the General Council, si nce it had not included specific recommendations 
on the five S&D proposals which had been referred to the Committee.  More  specifically, the three 
Members were concerned that the document ha d substituted a work programme focussing on 
technical assistance in the place of clear recommenda tions arising from the Committee's consideration 
of the five S&D proposals.  As such, they did not be lieve that section VII of the draft report should be 
titled recommendations, since no recommendations had b een reached.  Kenya had suggested that one 
option was to send the proposals back to  the CTD for its consideration.   
86. China had recalled that the volume of notifications of SPS measures posed a significant 
problem for developing countries.  Article 10 was of critical importance when trying to comply with these changes in import requirements.  Technical assistance was important, but it was only one part of S&D.  Nevertheless, China had felt that the Commit tee could do more work on the issue of technical 
assistance, in particular in ensuring that it was demand -driven.  In this context, Chile had recalled that 
it had proven difficult to focus on the technical side of SPS measures and special and differential treatment.  However, the Committee decision in G/ SPS/33 had offered a practical solution to this 
problem, as had the Committee's decision on equivalen ce (G/SPS/19/Rev.2).  Canada was of the view 
that, because of the highly t echnical nature of SPS measures, the SPS Committee was the most 
appropriate forum in which to discuss pr oposals on S&D related to the SPS Agreement 
87. Several Members had recalled that there had been a good exchange of views on S&D at the 
March Committee meeting, as well as at recent inform al meetings.  They had viewed this discussion 
as positive and as a possible basis for further considera tion of these issues as part of an on-going work 
programme.  They had considered it was important that the July deadline to report to the General 
Council be respected and that the momentum of the Committee not be lost.  In this context, it was 
recalled that Kenya had stated that the African Group was considering reworking its proposals on 
S&D.   
88. Several Members had suggested that in the absen ce of agreement on how to move forward on 
the five S&D proposals per se, one way to advan ce was to look at how the recommendations on 
technical assistance might address some of the unde rlying concerns on S&D.  Mexico had observed 
that much had been achieved by the Committee in  technical assistance and it was right for the 
Committee to report on that.  The United States had noted that technical assistance designed to help 
exporting countries meet the requirements of impor ting countries was often a faster and more 
effective way of ensuring market access than providing special and differential treatment.    G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 21 
 
 
 89. A revision of the draft report had been considered by the Committee, again in informal mode, 
on 28 June (G/SPS/W/175/Rev.1).  Discussion of the revised document had focused on drafting 
suggestions from several Members to specific para graphs.  Considerable progress had been made on 
reaching a tentative agreement on most of these pa ragraphs, and further modifications had been 
suggested, particularly with respect to the conclu sions and recommendations of the draft report.   
90. On 29 June, delegates had received the proposed ch anges to certain paragraphs of the revised 
draft report, reflecting the discussions of the previo us day.  Members had been given an opportunity 
to comment on these proposed changes, and a furthe r revision had been discussed by Members on the 
morning of 30 June. 
91. The Chairman noted that the informal discussi ons had allowed a lot of progress to be made 
towards the finalization of the report to the Genera l Council.  The Secretariat had prepared another 
revision of the report, available to the Committee as G/SPS/W/175/Rev.2. 
92. The Committee adopted  the report on the proposals for special and differential treatment after  
agreeing a few final changes.  It has been circul ated as document G/SPS/35.  The Chairman indicated 
that the report would be submitted to  the General Council.  He thanke d delegations for their flexibility 
in working on the various documents in English onl y since it had not been possible to translate the 
various revisions in time for the informal meetings. 
(b) Issues related to Special and Differential Treatment 
93. The Chairman proposed holding a special wo rkshop on special and differential treatment.  
The Secretariat explained that such an activit y had been included in the technical assistance 
programme, and that therefore it would be possible to  cover the cost of attendance for a number of 
least-developed and developing country officials.  The programme might build on thee results of 
surveys that had been undertaken by IICA to anal yze actions taken by de veloping country Members 
who were making effective use of the SPS Agreemen t.  One focus could be on models for establishing 
a national SPS network or committee, to ensure coor dination not only at governmental level but also 
with stakeholders and with Gene va-based missions.  One STDF project was looking at models for 
national stakeholder involvement and preliminary r esults might be available for the workshop.  A 
second possible theme was how to make effective use of the transparency provisions, including how 
to make use of other Members' notifications.  A third theme might be how to identify the problems a 
Member faced in the SPS area.  A number of diagnos tic tools had been developed, and it might be 
useful to provide information on these to Memb ers.  The Secretariat invited suggestions from 
Members for useful subjects for the workshop,  if possible before 14 November 2005.   
VII. EQUIVALENCE  (ARTICLE 4) 
(a) Information from Members on their experiences  
94. The representative of Brazil informed the Co mmittee that since 1996, Brazil, Argentina, 
Uruguay and Chile had established a Committee on hy giene and health of fisheries products 
(G/SPS/GEN/586 ).  The role of this Committee included establishing a single health certificate for 
fisheries products that were traded amongst the four  countries.  Furthermore, technical issues which 
arose in marketing of fisheries products among the four countries were efficiently dealt with since 
their inspection services were familiar with the me thodologies and legislation used by the other 
countries and since there was a level of  equivalence in their legislation.  Thanks to the transparency of 
the measures taken, problems which might cause undue delays could be  settled expeditiously 
regardless of the administrative procedure to be applied. G/SPS/R/37 
Page 22  
 
 95. The representative of Chile emphasized the fact that Brazil was the first country to have 
brought an example to the Committee in the area of  equivalence.  Regarding the initiative taken by 
these four countries, similar structures and situatio ns in their respective fishery health sector had 
promoted good communication among the competent aut horities and had benefite d trade.  Exchanges 
of scientific information and technical material for future mutual recognition were planned, as well as 
a joint website providing a comparison of countries' legislation and cross-auditing.  Chile hoped that 
other countries would follow this example and shar e their own experience on equivalence with the 
Committee.  
(b) Information from relevant  observer organizations 
96. The representative of the IPPC informed th e Committee that at the seventh Interim 
Commission on Phytosanitary Measures (ICPM) meeting,  an international standard on phytosanitary 
measures relating to equivalence had been adopted, titled ISPM-24:  Guidelines for the determination 
and recognition of equivalence of phytosanitary measures.  In th e standard, the equivalence of 
phytosanitary measures was defined as the situation wh ere, for a specified risk, different phytosanitary 
measures achieved both contracting pa rties' appropriate levels of prot ection.  The agreed interpretation 
of a phytosanitary measure was any legislation, re gulation or official procedure having the purpose to 
prevent the introduction and/or spread of quarantine p ests or to limit the economic impact of regulated 
non-quarantine pests.  The standard  described the principles and requirements that applied for the 
determination and recognition of the equivalence of phytosanitary  measures.  An Annex to the 
standard contained the procedure for the determinati on of equivalence.  It described an interactive 
procedure for assessing phytosanitary measures in order to make a determination as to their 
equivalence.  
97. The representative of the Codex Alimentarius mentioned that a working group meeting would 
be held on 5-7 September in Brussels to prepare the draft appendices to the existing guidelines on the 
judgement of equivalence of sanita ry measures associated with food inspection and certification.  
These drafts would be submitted for comments to the 40th session of the Codex Committee on Food 
Import and Export Inspection and Certification System s to be held from 28 November to 2 December 
2005 in Australia.  
VIII.  REGIONALIZATION (ARTICLE 6) 
(a) Report of informal meeting 
98. The Chairman reported that at the informal m eeting on the clarification of Article 6, the 
Committee’s discussions had centred on issues raised in documents submitted by Brazil 
(G/SPS/W/177) and the European Communities (G /SPS/GEN/588).   The Committee's discussions 
had further benefited from the practical example give n by Brazil on its experience with the application 
of regionalization with regards to FMD (G/ SPS/GEN/584), and the contributions of the OIE 
(G/SPS/GEN/569 and G/SPS/GEN/574) and the IPPC (G/SPS/GEN/568). 
99. The representative of Brazil had highlighted the different but complementary roles of the SPS 
Committee and the international standard-setting bodies and proposed that the Committee develop 
general guidelines, including possible timeframes, fo r the recognition of pest- or disease-free areas.   
Specific suggestions on streamlining the recognition process were outlined and several actions were 
proposed for consideration by the SPS Committee. 
100.
 The representative of the European Communities ha d expressed the view that the work of the 
SPS Committee with respect to regionalization was not  contingent on the work of the international 
standard-setting bodies, and proposed that th e SPS Committee establish administrative guidelines 
without further delay.  The European Communities had suggested guidelines based on its experiences 
with implementation of Article 6 (G/SPS/GEN/588).  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 23 
 
 
 101. Members had expressed common concerns regarding the practical application of Article 6.  
However, there had been a continuing divergence of  views on the respective roles of the international 
standard-setting bodies and the SPS Committee, the sp ecificity of timeframes, and the sequencing of 
work in the SPS Committee and in the international standard-setting bodies.  One view was that the 
SPS Committee establish clear and predictable ad ministrative guidelines while the international 
standard-setting bodies should focus on the techni cal guidelines.  Creating and maintaining areas free 
of pests or diseases was resource-intensive and had implications for technical assistance and capacity 
building for developing countries.  Regionalization w as a tool to enhance domestic health protection 
as well as to gain market access, and several Members cautioned agains t developing burdensome 
guidelines.  Another view was that the SPS Comm ittee await the completion of the work by the 
international standard-setting bodies and then de termine the gaps to be addressed by the SPS 
Committee.  Several Members had stated that it wo uld be difficult to make distinctions between 
technical and administrative guidelines, and had been concerned about the potential duplication of 
work if the SPS Committee were to proceed with establishing administrative guidelines.   
102. Some Members had stated that they could not agree to the establishment of timeframes.  One 
Member had suggested that timeframes could be left  to bilateral negotiations, with Members notifying 
to the Committee the length of time taken to recognize pest- or disease-free status.   
103. Brazil had further noted that despite the positiv e work of the international standard-setting 
bodies on regionalization, there were issues relating to the SPS Agreement that needed to be addressed by the SPS Committee, e.g., how Members ta ke into account international standards when 
evaluating a request for regionalization;  how to en sure requirements meet the obligation of not being 
more trade-restrictive than require d;  the special needs of developing countries;  and how to make the 
recognition process more transparent.  Furthermore, some Members' legislation seemed to prevent the 
practical implementation of Article 6.  Some legisl ations were not consistent with the SPS Agreement, 
while in other cases, unjustified procedural de lays were a feature of the legislation.   
104. One Member had noted that the discussions we re leading to a greater understanding of the 
underlying issues.  Many Members had supported hol ding a workshop on regionalization to articulate 
these issues in greater detail and to share experien ces.  The Secretariat had recalled that budgetary 
considerations needed to be taken into account wh en planning a formal workshop, and suggested that 
a different structure for informal meetings mi ght permit enhanced discussions without additional 
costs.  
Report of the 73
rd General Session of the OIE  
105. The representative of the OIE had informed the Committee that the prop osed revised chapter 
of the Terrestrial Animal Health Code on zoni ng and compartmentalization had been adopted in 
May 2005.  The revised chapter emphasized the role of the veterinary services in establishing zones or 
compartments and in negotiating market access with trading partners.  The revised chapter would not 
be the final document, as a technical paper on compartmentalization was being circulated for 
comments, and the chapter was expect ed to be further revised in 2006 or 2007.  The representative of 
the OIE clarified that the new OIE standard did no t make clear distinctions between technical and 
administrative issues as these were considered to  be part of a recommended sequence of steps. 
Report of the 7th ICPM of the IPPC  
106. The representative of the IPPC had reported th at at the 7th ICPM, an open-ended working 
group had been established to discuss the issue of regionalization, recognizing that trade facilitation 
was a major objective for establishing pest-free areas and areas of low pest prevalence.   G/SPS/R/37 
Page 24  
 
 107. Standards on establishing pest-free areas and areas of  low pest prevalence already existed, but 
there were no standards for the recognition of p est-free areas.  The working group therefore had 
agreed that a concept standard on "Guidelines fo r the recognition of the establishment of pest free 
areas and areas of low pest prevalence" was urgen tly required.  The ICPM Standards Committee had 
met in April and developed the specifications for the standard.  A call had gone out to Regional Plant 
Protection Organizations for nominations for an expe rt working group that would meet in October to 
develop the draft standard. 
108. Pest-free areas were commonly accepted on a bilateral basis.  Members saw merit in 
developing a multilateral system of recognition of  pest-free areas, but had reservations about the 
complexity and resource implications of such a sy stem.  To address these concerns, the working group 
of the ICPM had recommended that a feasibility stud y be undertaken.  An ICPM Focus Group would 
meet to develop a proposal for the composition of a working group on this subject and its terms of 
reference.  The study would take into account le gal, technical and economic factors and assess the 
feasibility and sustainability of such a system.  Th e proposal was to be submitted, through the ad hoc 
ICPM informal working group on Strategic Planning a nd Technical Assistance, to the next session of 
the ICPM. 
109. In concluding the informal meeting, the Chai rman had suggested that, given the continued 
divergence of views in the Committee, it would be premature to request the Secretariat to draft general administrative guidelines at this time.  Th e Chairman had proposed that another informal 
meeting on the clarification of Article 6 be held at  the time of the next Committee meeting.  He had 
encouraged Members to discuss this matter directly with each other and to provide practical examples 
of their experiences with the application of Article 6.  
(b) Discussion of issues related to the operation of the provisions of Article 6 
110. There were no issues raised under this agenda item.  
(c)  Information from observer organizati ons regarding their work on regionalization 
111. The representative of the OIE suggested that  the information contained in G/SPS/GEN/569 
and G/SPS/GEN/574 as well as in the OIE revised st andard for BSE could constitute a good basis for 
further Committee discussions on the issue of regionalization.  
112. The representative of Argentina mentioned that at  the last session of the OIE, Argentina had 
been recognized as a country free of FMD, with the vaccination north of latitude 42° and without vaccination in the South.  Consequently, many im porters, notably Chile, had resumed trade for some 
products previously subjected to restrictions.  The representative of Chile confirmed that shortly after 
the OIE report, on 13 June, 2005, Chile been recogni zed Argentina's area north of latitude 42° as a 
disease-free area.  
113. The Chairman observed that subsequent to the informal meeting a number of delegations had 
put down on paper some elements for a structured  discussion on regionalization.  He intended to 
include the information received from Members into a fax that he would send to all delegations, so 
that all had an opportunity to engage in an ope n and transparent manner in setting up the framework.  
In this fax, he would also request comments on th e structure of the discussions, to be submitted no 
later than 14 November 2005.  A structure had to be  agreed early enough for Members to submit their 
written contributions no later than the end of Novemb er.  These contributions had to be available in 
the three official languages for consideration at an informal meeting in January/February 2006. 
114. The Chairman further required from Members provisional indications on their willingness to 
contribute to the informal meeting through th e provision of some written documentation and a  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 25 
 
 
 possible presentation.  His intention, contingent  on the amount of inputs from Members and the level 
of their contribution to the informal meeting, was to set aside a full day for discussing the issue.  He 
reiterated his thanks to the Members that had al ready come up with some suggestions which looked 
like a very promising step forward for more detailed discussion. 
IX. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION 
(a) Information from the Secretariat 
115. The Secretariat reported on the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF).  Since the 
last Committee meeting, two very successful nationa l activities had been held in Chinese Taipei and 
India.  Several joint activities had also been orga nised in various countries and the WTO Institute for 
Training and Technical Cooperation had recently held an activity in Geneva.  Two activities had to be 
postponed; the joint activity on training for enquiry points in the Caribbean was being rescheduled.  
Activities planned for the later half of the year in cluded five regional workshops, two in cooperation 
with an STDF programme consisting in training of trai ners in the veterinary area.  This programme, if 
successful, could be used as a model for future c ooperation with the OIE, Codex and IPPC.  A number 
of Geneva-based activities, including a SPS training for least developed countries and a specialized 
trade policy course on SPS measures, for which inform ation had been provided at the last Committee 
meeting, were scheduled for the coming months.   
116. With regards to financing, the Secretariat repor ted that Australia and Italy had contributed to 
the STDF budget, and donations were pledged by another EC member State.  Document G/SPS/GEN/572 provided information on the projects and project preparations that had been supported by the STDF.  The STDF website and document G/SPS/GEN/523 contained all the 
information required to submit a project or a project preparation proposal.  The next deadline for 
receiving proposals for STDF projects was 1 July  2005.  The next meeting of the STDF was 
scheduled for 6 and 7 September.  Within the STDF,  40 per cent of the resources had to be devoted to 
least-developed countries.  To manage this, the STDF was building on the work of the in-house 
integrated framework (IF) in the least developed countries.  As shown in document G/SPS/GEN/572, 
a number of project preparation grants approved for least-developed countries were in IF countries.  
In the framework of the joint integrated technical  assistance programme (JITAP), one project with 
FAO involvement was currently looking at strengthening enquiry points, including SPS enquiry points, in 16 African countries.  With regard to Ecuador's request for training on enquiry points, the Secretariat was looking to fulfil it by solicitin g assistance from another enquiry point in Latin 
America.  
117. The representative of India thanked the Secretariat, as well as OIE, IPPC and Codex for the 
technical assistance activity on the SPS Agreement orga nized in India.  It had been a very useful 
activity which had brought together stakehol ders from various departments and industry 
organizations.  The representative of Chinese Taipei thanked the Secretariat for the event in Chinese 
Taipei, which had been attended by more than 140 participants from government agencies, industry, 
farmers associations and research institutes.  
118. The Secretariat provided some details on the sp ecialized trade policy course that will be held 
in October.  This course would, for the first time , concentrate exclusively on the SPS Agreement, with 
a focus on specific implementation problems, soluti ons and practices among Members.  Participants 
should be fluent in Spanish, very familiar with the Agreement, and looking for in-depth discussions 
on how to address specific problems.  A number of th e SPS delegates were registered as participants, 
others would participate as resource persons.  Con tingent on its success, the course would be repeated 
in English and French. G/SPS/R/37 
Page 26  
 
 (b) Information from Members 
119. The representative of Canada recalled that an international plant health risk analysis 
workshop was planned in Niagara Falls, Canada, in  October 2005.  The workshop was being jointly 
organised by the Canadian food inspection agency  and the IPPC.  Detailed information had been 
provided by the IPPC in G/SPS/GEN/581. The goals of the workshop included the development of 
strengthened international partners hips between pest risk analysis (PRA) specialists worldwide, 
increasing awareness of capacities issues faced by de veloping countries and being a catalysts for 
providing technical assistance to developing countries in  the area of PRA.  Financial contributions to 
support participation by 20 representatives of develo ping countries had been received. Thirty further 
places for developing-country representatives were still available and contributions were welcome.  
An application for funding from the STDF would be submitted and Canada hoped that it would be 
approved before the meeting took place.  
120. The representative of the European Commun ities announced that at future Committee 
meetings information on SPS-rela ted technical assistance provided by  the European Communities and 
by EC member States would be provided.  Over the last years, developing countries had to face 
particular problems with residues and contaminants which, in some cases, had an adverse impact on 
trade.  In order to assist them improving their f ood safety standards, the European Communities had 
organised a training course on residues for laborator y specialists from developing countries in France 
in November-December 2004.  The first session had generated great interest from developing 
countries to receive similar training on a permanent basis.  Positive feedback  was also received from 
the aflatoxins training course provided to experts of developing countries in the United Kingdom in 
May.  The European Communities had recently put in place an online help desk for developing 
countries on how to export to its market.  This interface allowed exporters from developing countries 
to establish contact with all EC importers and ga ve the possibility to launch detailed information 
requests about current market access issues expe rienced by developing-country exporters.  The 
European Communities intended to make an elect ronic presentation of these services at the next 
meeting of the Committee. 
121. The representative of Peru expressed particular inte rest in the residue analysis course.  Peru 
had notified in document G/SPS/GEN/579 its system fo r surveillance and control of contaminants in 
primary agriculture production.  Through its nationa l agriculture health service, Peru was setting up a 
new reference centre for technical control of toxic residues and quality control of agricultural input.  
Close to 2.5 million dollars had been invested in infr astructure and equipment.  In order to make this 
reference centre operational,  technical c ooperation was needed in several areas. 
122. The representative of Colombia expressed gra titude to the European Communities for having 
been able to participate in the course on residues of  chemical contaminants and veterinary medicines 
in France.  As Colombia was trying to ensure  access for its products to EC countries, Colombia 
wanted to officially request that the training recei ved by its technicians benefit from a certain follow-
up in the future by means of specific courses on areas of particular interest to Colombia. 
123. The representative of the United States commented on document 
G/SPS/GEN/181/Add.5/Rev.1, reporting, as in previous  years, on technical assistance provided by 
various US Government agencies from June 2004 to May 2005. The representatives of Barbados, 
China, Colombia, Panama, and Saint Kitts and Ne vis thanked the United States for the technical 
assistance provided.  Colombia emphasized the assi stance received in the food safety area, which had 
increased mutual cooperation on SPS measures of par ticular interest to both countries.  Barbados 
mentioned the assistance received since 1997 thr ough the Caribbean food safety initiative, not only 
bilaterally but also through regional institutions .  Panama highlighted the institutional support 
received by some officials from the Panamanian Department of Agriculture in projects dealing with the Mediterranean fruit fly, for assistance in labor atory practices and for a seminar held on safety and  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 27 
 
 
 drugs.  China noted that the US technical assistan ce programme had enhanced China's comprehension 
and administration of SPS issues and had promoted th e bilateral trade of agriculture products.  China 
extended its appreciation to Canada and Austra lia for the SPS-related technical assistance and 
expressed hopes to benefit from similar activities in th e future.  Saint Kitts and Nevis informed the 
Committee that workshops were scheduled to be held  in September.  The knowledge gained at this 
occasion would be passed on to animal health assist ants, livestock production officers and farmers in 
order to further strengthen Saint Kitts a nd Nevis's emergency preparedness plan.  
124. The representative of New Zealand updated the Committee on the phytosanitary capacity 
building activity it was providing to Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.  The overall goal of the 
activity was to enhance plant protection capabilities of these countries.  Phase I of the programme had 
now been completed and Phase II was starting.  New Zealand was coordinating with other donors 
active in the region to ensure complementarity.  Ot her technical assistance provided to South-East 
Asia included supporting the regional coordination un it of the South-East Asia FMD campaign which 
aimed at eradicating FMD in the region by 2020.  New Zealand also sponsored missions to Vietnam 
to assist the development of regional disease eradic ation programmes for FMD, classical swine fever 
and avian influenza.  
125. The representative of the Dominican Republic  conveyed thanks to IICA, OIRSA, New 
Zealand and Australia and other institutions that had cooperated with the Dominican Republic in 
strengthening its implementation of SPS measures and had improved the structure for SPS protection 
and legislation (G/SPS/GEN/587).  The national su rveillance and food control programme had also 
benefited from workshops on ISPM-15.   
126. The representative of Australia recalled that Australia would, during the current week, 
contribute 200,000 dollars to the STDF, in additi on to the 60 million dollars spent on other activities 
in calendar years 2003 and 2004.  These had mainly been  used for direct project support in areas such 
as Newcastle disease control in village poultry, building nationa l plant disease surveillance, 
developing guidelines for diagnosis, surveillance a nd responsible procedures for major fruit flies 
species and training in the recognition of exotic pest s and diseases.  This included the contribution of 
500,000 dollars a year to the global Trust Fund. 
127. The representative of Ecuador expressed thanks  for the support of IICA in attending SPS 
Committee meetings on behalf of Peru, Ecuador and Bolivia.  Institutional support had improved 
capacities in these countries in the field of SPS measures.  The represen tative of the Bahamas 
acknowledged the support received from IICA for attendance at SPS Committee meetings and from 
the United States and Canada for technical assistance  activities.  He pointed out that when technical 
assistance was provided to a member of the Caribbean  community, it did not only benefit the recipient 
country but was shared bilaterally among the Caribbean countries.  
128. The Secretariat stressed that the technical assist ance reports prepared by the United States and 
other Members were extremely useful, particularly with respect to the STDF database on technical 
assistance activities, which was very difficult to main tain accurate.  This was particularly important 
when the STDF was looking at funding projects without duplicating the activities of donors. 
(c) Information from Observers 
129. The representative of Codex presented the annua l report of the Codex Trust Fund for 2004 
and the fifth progress report (G/SPS/GEN/564 a nd G/SPS/GEN/565).  Through the Fund, FAO and 
WHO had encouraged more participation and involve ment of developing countries in the Codex food 
standard setting process.  Increasing countries' partic ipation in Codex would enhance their food safety 
and quality systems.  As of December 2004, ni ne national governments had provided around 1.5 
million US dollars to the Codex Trust Fund a nd several countries had pledged approximately 1 G/SPS/R/37 
Page 28  
 
 million US dollars for future activities.  The Codex A limentarius appreciated such great contributions.  
In beneficiary countries' reports to the administrators  of the Codex Trust Fund, several had stated that 
they had participated in a Codex meeting for the fi rst time, and that the participation had been very 
useful.  Several countries had pointed out specific problems they were experiencing and had requested 
support on policy development and cap acity building.  In conjunction with the forthcoming session of 
the Codex Alimentarius Commission, an informal  meeting between recipient countries and donor 
countries would be held at FAO headquarters to di scuss how recipient countries' participation in 
Codex meetings had benef ited them.  This informal meeting w ould be open to all delegates attending 
the session.  
130. The representative of the IPPC further elabor ated on the information provided by Canada 
regarding the international plant health risk an alysis workshop (para. 119 refers).  Within the 
framework of the IPPC, pest risk analysis identifie d pests and potential pests.  International standards 
developed by the IPPC such as ISPM-2, ISPM-1 1 and ISPM-21 provided guidelines for conducting 
pest risk analyses (PRAs).  In light of recent changes to ISPM-11 and increasing global concerns 
about environmental impacts of invasive alien sp ecies and living modified organisms, countries had 
concerns over their capacity to undertake risk analyses in accordance with  these standards.  The 
workshop would provide an opportunity to examine how best to implement the PRAs nationally and 
harmonize them internationally, to increase knowledge  on the undertaking of PRAs and to evaluate 
the strengths  and weaknesses of different appro aches to the PRA process.  The representative of the 
IPPC further presented the technical assistance ac tivities undertaken by the IPPC since the last 
meeting (G/SPS/GEN/568).  These activities included workshops related to the new vision of the 
International Portal on Food Safety, Animal and Plan t Health in Asia and Fiji.  The IPPC had been 
involved in a phytosanitary capacity evaluati on facilitating workshop in Rome, in a WTO SPS 
regional workshop in Fiji and in a technical panel on quarantine issues in Canada.  The representative 
of the IPPC recalled that a Trust Fund had been established in order to support developing countries' 
attendance at standard-setting meetings, training programmes and regional wo rkshops.  To date, only 
Canada and New Zealand had cont ributed to this Trust Fund. 
131. The represenative of the OIE informed the Co mmittee that during the next 12 months,  the 
OIE would hold worskhops aimed at  improving the capac ity of the veterinary services of beneficiary 
countries to become more involved in standa rd-setting activities and the implementation of 
international standards.  The OIE was pursuing work with IICA on the veterinary  capacity tool and, in 
cooperation with the World Bank, looking at streng thening veterinary services in Africa.  The OIE 
would also continue to cooperate with th e Secretariat in WTO regional seminars. 
132. The representative of Barbados stressed that only three of the Caribbean countries had 
benefited from the Codex Trust Fund and sugg ested that the Codex Committee give more 
consideration to the use of the Trust Fund for the participation of least-developed Caribbean countries 
in the various Codex committees. 
133. The representative of the World Bank reported that since the beginning of the year, more SPS 
cases were identified for capacity building through a diagnostic trade and integration study (DTIS). In 
2005, the World Bank had organised an e-learning course on costs of compliance.  The World Bank would repeat the course since not all applicants had been able to participate and was also considering 
providing the course in French and Spanish.  The World Bank was also working on a methodology for capacity building and developing a pilot case for pr eparing action plans for managing SPS measures 
at the country level.  
134. The representative of New Zealand noted that at this SPS Committee meeting there had been 
a lot of debate about the appropriateness and e ffectiveness of technical assistance provided and 
several contributions from Members on how donor countries were facilitating participation and 
attendance of developing countries at various standa rd-setting meetings.  Over the years, there had  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 29 
 
 
 been a steadily increasing number of countries pa rticipating in SPS Committee meetings, which 
showed that the IICA initiative had been quite be neficial, not only for the newly participating 
countries but also for all delegates since the Comm ittee meetings benefited from more diverse and 
thus much richer contributions. 
X. MONITORING THE USE OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 
(a) New Issues 
135. The representative of Japan sought confirmation that the chapeau of paragraph 1 of Article 
2.3.13.1 of the BSE chapter in the OIE Terrestrial Animal Health Code did not preclude a Member from introducing or maintaining measures which result in a higher level of SPS protection in 
accordance with Article 3.3 of the SPS Agreement.
2   
136. The representative of the OIE explained that there was no difference between that section of 
the BSE-chapter of the Code and the other chapters  with regard to Members' rights and obligations 
under the SPS Agreement.  The recommendation in th e first article of the BSE chapter was that 
veterinary administrations should not require any BSE-related conditions for those commodities that, 
according to science, did not transmit BSE, other than  the conditions which were directly attached to 
the commodities such as, inter alia , good manufacturing practices.  
(b) Issues Previously Raised 
137. There were no issues raised under this agenda item. 
(c)  Seventh Annual Report 138. The Chairman recalled that the Committee had previously adopted six Annual Reports on the 
procedure to monitor the use of international standa rds which summarized the standards-related issues 
the Committee had considered and the responses recei ved from the relevant international standard-
setting bodies.  He invited the Committee to adopt the draft Seventh Annual Report circulated as 
G/SPS/W/174 and reminded Members that the report w ould be modified to include reference to any 
discussion of issues at this meeting.  
139. The Committee adopted
 the Seventh Annual Report on the procedure to monitor the use of 
international standards as modified.  It has been circulated as G/SPS/37. 
XI. REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT 
(a) Report of Informal Meetings 
140. The Chairman reported that the discussions at the informal meeting on 27 June on the review 
of the operation of the SPS Agreement had focused on the revised draft text of the Report of the 
Review (G/SPS/W/173/Rev.1) and had continued the ne xt day.  In accordance with the procedures 
and timeline adopted by the SPS Committee (G/SPS/32), the Secretariat had prepared this revision of 
the draft report on the Review based on the written comments received before the 10 June deadline 
from: Australia, Brazil, Chile, China, the Europ ean Communities, Hong Kong, China, New Zealand, 
Uruguay and the United States.  The substantive cha nges had been marked in the text.  Comments had 
subsequently been submitted by Peru and circulated as document G/SPS/W/176.   
                                                      
2 "When authorising import or transit of the following commodities, Veterinary Administrations should 
not require  any BSE-related conditions, regardless of the BSE status of the cattle population of the exporting 
country, zone or  compartment." G/SPS/R/37 
Page 30  
 
 141. The Committee's discussions had focused firstly  on the new Overview Section and on other 
proposed changes marked in the text, followed by th e opportunity to suggest any other changes in the 
document.  Members had welcomed the new Overview  section, which had been included to provide a 
summary of the positive and negative achievements  resulting from the operation and implementation 
of the SPS Agreement over the years.  Several clarif ications and modifications had been suggested to 
the Overview section, including the incorporation here  of the section on dispute resolution.  A revised 
version of the Overview had been considered  at the informal meeting on the next day. 
142. Delegates had no objections to most of the othe r changes which had been marked in the first 
Revision.  Some further modifications were suggest ed, including to the section on Transparency.  It 
was also suggested that it would be more appropr iate for the Committee to examine the relationship 
between various Articles of the Agreement, w ithout prejudging whether any clarification was 
required.  The IPPC and the OIE provided more up- to-date information on their activities relating to 
equivalence and regionalization.  Other discussi ons had focused on proposed changes regarding the 
clarification of terms, which had led to a revisi on of this section and of the related proposal.    
143. The Secretariat had been requested to incorpor ate all of the modifications which had been 
tentatively agreed into a second revision of th e document circulated as G/SPS/W/173/Rev.2, for 
consideration by the Committee with a view to  its adoption during the formal meeting.   
(b)  Adoption of the Report on the Review of the Operation of the SPS Agreement 144. A revision of the draft Report on the Review was circulated as G/SPS/W/173/Rev.2, 
highlighting those modifications that had been made based upon the discussions in the informal 
meetings.   
145. The Committee adopted
 the Report on the Review of the Operation of the SPS Agreement 
with minor changes.  It has been circulated as G/ SPS/36.  The Committee agreed to hold an informal 
meeting in conjunction with the next  regular meeting to consider issues identified in the Review.   
146. The Chairman noted that Members would have to determine which issues they wished to 
address first and how to address them.  He invited Members to submit papers or proposals on any of 
the identified issues by 14 November 2005.  Based  upon the review of these papers, the Chairman 
planned to propose, about one month in advance of the meeting, a more specific agenda for the informal meeting.  The Chairman thanked Member s for their constructive approach and for their 
flexibility in accepting to work on the basis of texts that were available only in English, without the 
corresponding Spanish and French translations. 
XII. MATTERS OF INTEREST ARISING FROM THE WORK OF OBSERVER 
ORGANIZATIONS 
(a) Information from Codex 
147. The representative of Codex presented an info rmation document on activities of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission (G/SPS/GEN/566). At the 22nd  session of the Codex Committee on General Principles, the Committee had agreed to abolish the acceptance procedure for Codex 
standards as it had not been used for a long time and was not relevant in the framework of the WTO 
SPS and TBT Agreements.  The Committee had discu ssed the need for information on the use of 
Codex standards and had agreed that the Codex secre tariat should initiate form al consultations with 
the WTO Secretariat on how to monitor informati on on the use of Codex standards at the national 
level.  The Codex representative highlighted sever al upcoming important Codex meetings.  At the 
28th Session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission to be held in July, very important draft Codex 
Standards, listed in the Annex of G/SPS/GEN/566, we re to be submitted for final adoption at step 8.  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 31 
 
 
 As mentioned previously, the Codex Committ ee on Food Import and Export Inspection and 
Certification Systems was currently preparing two appendices to the Guidelines on Equivalence for its 
September meeting.  Other important work included the preparation of a proposed revision of the 
Guidelines for generic official certificate format s and the production and issuance of certificates, 
consideration of draft Principles and Guidelines for risk-based inspection of imported foods and a 
discussion paper on the revision of the Guidelines for the exchange of information between countries 
on rejections of imported foods.  
148. The representative of Chile confirmed that, at the last Codex Committee meeting, it had been 
decided to discontinue the acceptance procedure for Codex standards.  This would imply coordination 
between the Codex and the WTO, since harmonizatio n was an issue that the SPS Committee was also 
dealing with and as it was related to transparency.  
(b) Information from IPPC 
149. The representative of the IPPC indicated that document G/SPS/GEN/573 outlined the 
decisions taken at the April meeting of the ICPM.  Three new standards had been adopted:  (i) Requirements for the establishment of areas of low pest prevalence;  (ii) Guidelines for inspection 
and (iii) Guidelines for the determination and rec ognition of equivalence of phytosanitary measures. 
The revision of ISPM-3, the Guid elines for the export, shipment, import and release of biological 
control agents and other beneficial organisms, had also been adopted, as well as amendments to 
ISPM-5, the Glossary of phytosanitary terms.  As detailed in G/SPS/GEN/568, the ICPM decided  
that a concept standard on regionalisation be urge ntly developed and a feasibility study undertaken. 
The ICPM had also decided to establish a work ing group to formulate policy recommendations on 
electronic certification to be presented to the in formal working group on strategic planning and 
technical assistance for submission to the next ICPM meeting.  The representative of the IPPC 
emphasized that document G/SPS/GEN/571, outlining the status of international standards for 
phytosanitary measures, was extrem ely useful, as it very succinctly described all IPPC activities.  The 
document would be updated each year so that new standards under development could be added.    
150. The representative of the IPPC recalled that before  coming into operation, the revised text of  
the IPPC, adopted in 1997, had to be ratified by tw o thirds of the contracting parties.  Five more 
ratifications were now required, hopefully before th e next meeting in April 2006 which would then be 
the first meeting of the Commission on Phytosanita ry Measures.  All FAO members could attend the 
meeting of the current Interim Commission.  Once the Commission came to being, only the 
contracting parties to the IPPC would be able to take part.  About 40 FAO members were not 
contracting parties to the IPPC; most of them developing and least-developed countries.  The IPPC 
encouraged them to put the instrument of acceptance in  place in order to be able to attend future CPM 
meetings.  
151. The Vice-chair of the IPPC ra ised his concerns related to the budget of the IPPC, which 
would be under discussion again in October 2005 at the FAO conference.  In the coming budget 
negotiations of the FAO, the immediate prospect was that the IPPC budget might be cut by 35 per 
cent for the next biennium, which was an enormous  setback for the IPPC, the work on international 
harmonization and the technical assistance activities carried out by the ICPM and by the IPPC 
secretariat.  The Vice-Chair of the IPPC urged Members to contact their national FAO representative and advise of the importance of having intern ational standardization done under the IPPC. 
152. The representative of Argentina commented that a lot of hard work had been done to promote 
transparency and enhance the participation of developing countries. Developing and approving 
standards was onerous, since it involved consulta tions and dissemination of information.  The 
resources could be shared by many countries given th e fact that the first to be affected were less 
developed countries. G/SPS/R/37 
Page 32  
 
 153. The representative of Jamaica expressed a ppreciation for document G/SPS/GEN/571 and 
stated that the proposed cut in the budget of the IPPC  would have a negative effect on its work and on 
the very meaningful technical assistance offered to  many developing countries.   In that context, 
Jamaica supported the idea that Members request from  the FAO that this cut be reconsidered.  The 
representative of Barbados endorsed Jamaica's call that Members sensitize their representatives about 
the cuts to the IPPC's budget.  
154. The representative of Canada stressed that Cana da strongly supported the provision by the 
FAO of adequate funding both for the IPPC and th e Codex Alimentarius Commission.  Canada had 
raised this issue previously in the relevant FAO fo ra and would continue to do so.  Canada highlighted 
the disparity between the number of donors and the le vel of funds deposited in the trust funds of the 
two standard-setting bodies and encouraged countries to contribute to the IPPC Trust Fund at the 
same level as their contribution to the Codex.  
155. The representative of Trinidad and Tobago highlighted that many countries in the Caribbean, 
including Trinidad and Tobago, attended the ICPM mee tings in Rome and participated in the work of 
the IPPC either through FAO or through the IPPC Trust Fund.  Trinidad and Tobago appealed to FAO 
and to other donors to continue to support the budgetary trust of the IPPC and assured the IPPC that in 
Trinidad and Tobago the cabinet had agreed to signi ng the new revised text of the convention.  Now 
Foreign Affairs had to put the necessary instruments in place. 
156. The representative of Saint Vincent and th e Grenadines thanked his Latin American 
colleagues for accepting the nomination of one Englis h-speaking Caribbean country to represent them  
at standards-committee meetings.  
(c) Information from the OIE 
157. The representative of the OIE explained that document G/SPS/GEN/569 listed the 
recommendations arising from a joint OIE/FAO intern ational scientific conference on avian influenza.  
These recommendations covered human and animal health, vaccination and controls.  Document 
G/SPS/GEN/577 summarized the outcomes of the 73t h General Session of the OIE.  The working 
group on food safety, in conjunction with Codex ex perts, was working on animal identification and 
traceability.  Four standards on animal welfare had been adopted by the animal welfare working 
group.  The Terrestrial Animal Health Standard s Commission had adopted 24 new or revised texts, 
including a revised BSE chapter, an appendix on BSE surveillance, and similar revisions for avian 
influenza and FMD.  Under the Biological Sta ndards Commission, seven new standards had been 
adopted.  The lists of countries or zones fr ee of certain diseases had been updated.  The 
implementation of OIE standards in the framewo rk of the SPS Agreement had been discussed and 
some recommendations had arisen. 
(d) Information from IICA  
158. The representative of IICA highlighted that th e tenth meeting of the SPS Initiative for the 
Countries of the Americas had taken place in March.   Thanks to this initiative representation in the 
SPS Committee from the 34 countries in the Americas had averaged 95  per cent and there had been 
significant advancements in implem entation and coordination at the na tional level.  IICA was open to 
sharing information about this initiative.  IICA ha d also worked with the OIE to enhance national 
veterinary services using the Performance, Vision and Strategy Instrument which had been introduced 
at the October 2004 SPS Committee meeting.  The pro cess had been started in ten countries, with 
another six planned before the end of the year.  This instrument served various roles, including 
educating key policy makers and stakeholders, cr eating a shared vision between the public and the 
private sector and outlining incremental changes for improvement.  The IICA representative recalled a 
past programme called Executive Leadership in Food Safety, which had had the three principal  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 33 
 
 
 objectives of allowing in-depth discussion on critical t opics, enhancing personal leadership skills and 
forming a support network.  IICA had evaluated this  programme almost two years after its conclusion 
and found that 90 per cent of participants were e ither in new positions with increased leadership 
responsibilities or had taken on new leadership roles.   
159. The representative of IICA further reported that IICA was supporting the OIE on the regional 
committee of the global framework for the progressive control of transboundary animal diseases and 
had also provided support for the first hemispheric meeting on international border control and animal 
and plant health organized by the Agriculture and Livestock Service of Chile along with FAO.  IICA 
was working with FAO and IPPC to carry out tw o regional workshops on the international portal on 
food safety, plant and animal health and would be  working with the WTO Institute for Training and 
Technical Cooperation on a two-week workshop on the implementation of the SPS Agreement to be 
conducted in Spanish in Geneva in October/November 2005.  IICA would also be supporting the 
regional SPS workshop in Central America in Nove mber being organized by the WTO Secretariat.  
Additional information and contact deta ils were contained in G/SPS/GEN/570. 
160. The representative of Jamaica thanked IICA for th e Initiative of the Americas on behalf of its 
beneficiaries.  The Initiative had allowed them  to gain a much better understanding of the SPS 
Committee and triggered many activities at the nati onal level.  On behalf of the Committee, the 
Chairman expressed appreciation for IICA's efforts. 
(e) Information from WHO 
161. The representative of the WHO drew the Committ ee's attention to the adoption by the 58th 
World Health Assembly of the revised Internati onal Health Regulations (IH R).  The WHO's highest 
governing body had initially requested the Director General of WHO to prepare a draft revision in 
1995, so the adoption represented ten year's work.  A new process had been followed to draft and 
adopt these regulations, involving a series of inter governmental negotiations on the text.  Throughout 
the process, much attention had been given to  the relationship between the IHR and other 
international agreements to ensure a synergistic approach, including through discussions with the SPS 
Committee, discussions with the WTO Secretariat,  legal advice regarding potential conflicts and 
concerns raised by WHO members.  He indicated that the text of the IHR was available on the WHO 
website under the papers for the 58th World Hea lth Assembly (document number WHA58.3). WHO 
members had all received official notification of th e adoption along with certified copies of the IHR, 
which would enter into force in June 2007.  He highlighted their broadened scope, encompassing all 
public health emergencies of international concern, including traded foods that represented a threat of 
disease spread.  The purpose (Article 2) remained essentially the same, but referred explicitly to the 
avoidance of unnecessary interference with internati onal trade and traffic when taking measures to 
prevent disease spread.  Article 14 dealt with collabo ration with intergovernmental organizations and 
international bodies.  A whole section (Part III) de alt with how WHO would make recommendations 
under the IHR during emergencies and also for routin e application, making reference in Article 17 to 
other organizations' standards and agreements.  Ar ticle 43, dealing with measures that went beyond 
IHR recommendations, had been drafted to be co mplementary to similar provisions in the SPS 
Agreement.  Article 57 dealt with how the IHR worked in the context of other international 
agreements.  
(f) Information from OIRSA 
162. The representative of OIRSA indicated that information on OIRSA's activities had been 
circulated in document G/SPS/GEN/580.  He highlighted SPS-related capacity building activities in 
Costa Rica, El Salvador, and Mexico.  Together w ith the Ministry for Agricultural Development of 
Panama, OIRSA had carried out a pilot plan as a first step to establishing an area free of 
Mediterranean fruit flies in the Azuero region.  A regional plant health standard on the preparation G/SPS/R/37 
Page 34  
 
 and divulgation of regulated pests was publishe d.  Regarding strengthening of national SPS 
institutions, workshops with the objective of establis hing a strategic plan had been held in OIRSA 
countries.  OIRSA also participated in SPS-relate d negotiation meetings fo r the Central American 
Free Trade Area.  At the 73rd General Session of the OIE, OIRSA had presented information on its 
role and signed an agreement expanding the exis ting cooperation with the OIE.  OIRSA established 
cooperation with the Spanish Govern ment which might lead to assistance to OIRSA countries in the 
areas of food safety, animal and plant health.  An Agreement was reached with WHO/PAHO defining the work programme for the coming years. 
(g) Information from ISO (G/SPS/GEN/589) 
163. The representative of ISO gave a brief overvie w of ISO's standard development activities, 
highlighting a new international standard unde r preparation entitled ISO 22000, Food safety 
management systems – Requirements for organizations in  the food chain.  This standard was based on 
a management systems approach, as well as the principles of the HACCP system developed by Codex.  The new standard was circulated fo r ISO member body voting in May 2005 and would 
probably be published before the end of the y ear.  Another document, ISO/TS 22004 would give 
guidance on the application of ISO 22000 that c ould be helpful for small- and medium-sized 
enterprises and developing countries.  A new in ternational standard entitled ISO 22005, Traceability 
in the feed and food chain – General principles a nd guidance for system design and development was 
intended to provide recommendations for the implem entation of a traceability system both within and 
among organizations in the food chain.  Other projects of interest included methods of analysis for the 
detection of genetically modified organisms a nd derived products, good processing practices for the 
irradiation of foods intended for human consump tion and numerous other methods of analysis that 
supported and complemented the work of Codex.  The ISO representative finally mentioned ISO's 
work on international standards a nd guides relevant to conformity assessment.  He announced that he 
would provide a more detailed information pape r at the next meeting of the Committee.   
XIII.  OBSERVERS – REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS 
164. The Committee agreed to invite the organizati ons with current ad hoc observer status to 
participate in the next meeting of the Co mmittee (ACP Group, EFTA, IICA, OECD, OIRSA and 
SELA).  The Committee also invited all interested  observer organizations to participate in the 
informal meetings to be held in conn ection with the next Committee meeting. 
165. The Committee took no decision regarding the re quests for observer status from the Office 
International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV), the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), and 
the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).  
XIV.  CALENDAR OF REGULAR MEETINGS IN 2006 
166. The Committee adopted a tentative calendar for its meetings in 2006, subsequently circulated 
as G/SPS/GEN/583.  Formal meetings are planned for 29-31 March, 28-30 Ju ne and 11-13 October 
2006, as usual preceded by two days of informal meetings respectively. 
XV. OTHER BUSINESS 
Paraguay – Mercosur 
 
167. The representative of Paraguay reported on a deci sion taken in June 2005 to adopt a Mercosur 
action plan for FMD-freedom, reaffirming the commi tment within Mercosur at the highest political 
level to implement joint action in the area of anim al health.  FMD was the animal-health issue with 
the greatest impact on market access for animals and animal products.  The Ministers of Agriculture 
of Mercosur members had thus been instructed to prepare and implement the action plan with a view 
to optimizing the regional animal health situati on and improving the market conditions for animals 
and animal products.  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 35 
 
 
 Colombia – Ochratoxin in coffee 
 
168. The representative of Colombia raised concerns  regarding the adoption of EC regulation No. 
123/2005 on maximum ochratoxin A levels in coffe e, notified as G/SPS/N/EEC/247/Add.2. Colombia 
had commented on previous notifications fro m the European Communities and from Germany 
(G/SPS/N/DEU/9) on this subject.  The European Co mmunities had adopted more flexible levels than 
those previously established by Germany.  However,  the adopted regulation foresaw a revision of the 
maximum levels for certain products by 30 June 2006 , at which time the est ablishment of a maximum 
level for ochratoxin in green coffee would be cons idered. This was of concern to Colombia because 
the application of maximum ochratoxin levels fo r roasted and soluble coffee already implied the 
indirect application of a maximum level for green coffee.  The establishment of a maximum level for 
green coffee would not be proportional, since it woul d regulate the entire production chain, which was 
not planned for other products covered by the sa me notified measure.  According to Colombia, 
controls of ochratoxin levels in green coffee were  impracticable and counter-productive.  Given the 
large amounts of green coffee arriving every day in European ports, additional infrastructure would be 
needed to store the coffee during testing.  Furt hermore, during the testing process the green coffee 
could undergo condensation and re-humidification processes, wh ich were among the principal risk 
factors for mycotoxins.  Colombia was willing to  work with the European Communities and share 
progress made regarding preventiv e measures, which should be taken into account in risk 
assessments. 
169. The representative of Chile indicated that, a lthough Chile was not a coffee producer, Chile 
shared similar concerns.  He sought information on maximum ochratoxin levels for wine, which faced 
a similar situation. 
170. The representative of the European Communities re called that the issue had been extensively 
discussed in the past.  There had been several exchanges between the European Communities and 
certain coffee exporters, including Colombia.  He explained that the measures introduced represented 
a harmonized system for imports into the European  Communities that was advantageous for exporting 
countries, since previously the 25 member States ha d had individual requirements.  These individual 
requirements had been far more demanding than the harmonized levels now est ablished.  He invited 
Colombia to contact the European  Communities to discuss the details. 
Argentina – FMD situation 
 
171. The representative of Argentina informed the Co mmittee that Argentina had recently regained 
the status of FMD-free country at the OIE meeting in  May 2005.  There were two zones in Argentina, 
one free of FMD with vaccination in the north of the country, and another free of FMD without vaccination in the south.  The representative of  Chile noted that Chile had already recognized 
Argentina's improved FMD status. 
Argentina – Classical Swine Fever 
 
172. The representative of Argentina reported that at the last OIE meeting, Argentina had 
presented a document to declare itself free of classi cal swine fever.  There had not been any cases of 
this disease in Argentina for more than six y ears, and since May 2004 vaccination had been 
prohibited.  Argentina considered that regionali zation was an important instrument not only to 
improve the sanitary situation of a coun try, but also to obtain market access. 
Argentina – Panama's restrictions on dairy products 
 
173. 
The representative of Argentina indicated that  since the March 2004 meeting, Argentina had 
been raising Panama's imports requirements for dairy products, which it consider ed to be inconsistent G/SPS/R/37 
Page 36  
 
 with the SPS Agreement.  In October 2004, it had be en agreed than Panamanian officials would visit 
dairy plants in Argentina.  Despite repeated inv itations, this visit had not yet taken place.  At the 
March 2005 meeting of the Committee, Panama had i ndicated that the visit constituted only one step 
of a more complex process.  Panamanian authoriti es then required that a questionnaire be submitted, 
which Argentina had done.  Panama subsequen tly added a registration requirement for firms 
interested in exporting dairy products to Panama  for tax purposes.  These sanitary and administrative 
requirements constituted clear barriers to trade.  Argentina asked Panama to adjust its sanitary 
requirements to those in the OIE Code and to modify its administrative requirements. 
174. The representative of Panama replied that Panama  recognized Argentina's efforts to regain its 
FMD-free status.  He confirmed that several bilate ral exchanges had taken place, and that Argentina's 
request was close to completion.  Registration of in terested firms was indeed required.  As soon as 
these necessary steps were completed, Panamanian offi cials would be able to visit Argentine plants to 
finalize the procedure.  Panama was willing to mainta in the dialogue in order to find a solution to the 
problem. 
Argentina – Indonesia's restrictions relating to FMD 
 175. The representative of Argentina recalled that at the least meeting, Argentina had questioned a 
series of unjustified restrictions that Indonesia wa s applying to imports of meat products.  These 
restrictions were inconsistent, inter alia,  with Articles 2.2, 5.1 and 3.3 of the SPS Agreement.  
Indonesia required that the country of origin had been FMD-free for at least 12 months prior to shipment, and had not vaccinated against the disease in three years.  These requirements exceeded 
those contained in the OIE Code, especially consid ering that Argentina had regained its FMD-free 
status.  Argentina had been requ esting since the June 2004 meeti ng of the Committee that Indonesia 
provide information on steps taken to bring its requi rements in line with international standards to 
allow access for Argentina's exports.  The repres entative of Brazil shared Argentina's concerns, 
having experienced problems with exports of meat and meat products to Indonesia for the same 
reasons. 
176. The representative of Indonesia indicated that he had taken note of the concerns expressed 
and would forward them to the capital.  He inform ed the Committee that a bilateral meeting had been 
planned, but had had to be cancelle d due to tight schedules.  Indonesia remained ready to discuss the 
problem with Argentina. 
Peru – Information on FMD (G/SPS/GEN/578) 
 177. The representative of Peru informed the Comm ittee that the OIE had recognized the southern 
region of Peru as an FMD-free region without vacci nation in May 2005.  Overall, 34 per cent of 
Peru's territory had been recognized as free from FMD without vaccination by the OIE, 63 per cent 
were recognized nationally as free from FMD with out vaccination, and 3 per cent were recognized 
nationally as being free from FMD with vaccination. T hus, the entire territory of Peru was now free of 
FMD. 
XVI.  DATE AND AGENDA OF NEXT MEETING 
178. As announced per fax on 9 August 2005, at the July meeting of the General Council and at 
consultations following this event appeals were ma de to limit, in the second half of this year, the 
activities of regular WTO bodies to essential or statutory requirements, so as to allow Members to 
focus more effectively on the substantive prepara tions for the Hong Kong Ministerial Conference to 
be held in December.  Therefore, the Committee's October meeting will be li mited to the afternoon of 
Monday 24 October 2005 .  At that meeting, the Committee will take up items 11 and 14 of the 
provisional agenda (see below) since these items need  to be concluded in 2005.  The meeting will  G/SPS/R/37 
 Page 37 
 
 
 then be suspended, to be resumed in early 2006.  The continuation of the regular meeting has 
tentatively been scheduled for 1-2 February 2006 .  Informal meetings on regionalization, special and 
differential treatment and on establishing substantive elements for the work programme of the Review 
of the operation of the SPS Agreement will be held on 30-31 January .  The planned workshop on the 
Implementation of the SPS Agreement will be he ld immediately following the March meeting. 
179. The Committee agreed on the following provisional agenda for its next meeting:  
 G/SPS/R/37 
Page 38  
 
  AGENDA FOR MEETING OF 24 OCTOBER 2005  
TO BE CONTINUED ON 1-2 FEBRUARY 2006 
 
 1. Proposed agenda 
2. Activities of Members 
3. Specific trade concerns 
(a) New issues (b) Issues previously raised 
 (c) Consideration of specific notifications received 
 (d) Information on resolution of issues in G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.4 
4. Operation of transparency provisions 5. Implementation of special and differential treatment 6 Equivalence – Article 4 
 (a) Information from Members on their experiences 
 (b) Information from rele vant observer organizations 
7. Pest- and Disease-free areas – Article 6 
 (a) Information from Members on their experiences  (b) Information from rele vant observer organizations 
8. Technical assistance and cooperation 
 (a) Information from the Secretariat 
 (b) Information from Members 
 (c) Information from observers 
9. Issues arising from the Review 10. Monitoring of the use of international standards 
 (a) New issues 
 (b) Issues previously raised 
11. Transitional Review under Pa ragraph 18 of the Protocol of Accession of the People's 
Republic of China 
12. Matters of interest arising from the work of observer organizations 
13. Observers - Requests for observer status 14. Chairman's annual report to the Council for Trade in Goods 
15. Other business 
16. Date and agenda of next meeting 
  G/SPS/R/37 
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 180. The following deadlines are rele vant for the next meeting: 
(i) For sending comments in writing for the work programme of the Review of 
operation of the SPS Agreement:  14 November  2005   
(ii) For suggesting topics for the workshop on the implementation of the SPS 
Agreement to be held in conjunc tion with the March 2006 meeting: 
14 November  2005  
(iii) For indicating the intention to prepare papers on regionalization or to present 
regionalization experiences at an informal meeting:  14 November  2005  
(iv) For submitting papers on regionalization:  30 November  2005  
(v) For identifying new issues for consideration under the monitoring procedure: 
19 January 2006  
(vi) For requesting that items be put on the agenda:  19 January 2006  
(vii) For the distribution of the airgram:  20 January 2006.  
 
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