WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/W/249 
23 December 2009 
 (09-6701) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
PRIVATE STANDARDS 
 
Statement by MERCOSUR (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay
) 
  
 The following statement, received on 22 December  2009, is being circulated at the request of 
the delegation of MERCOSUR
. 
 
_______________ 
  
1. MERCOSUR would like to thank the WTO Secretariat for document G/SPS/W/247, which 
contains a compilation of possible actions that c ould be taken by the SPS Committee in relation to 
private standards.  The document clearly reflects not  only Members' level of concern with regard to 
the trade implications of such standards but also thei r interest in seeking solutions to ensure that the 
multilateral commitments undertaken under the SPS Ag reement are not nullified or impaired.  We 
thus consider that the Secretariat document is an excellent basis for the SPS Committee's work and 
reaffirm our commitment to move ah ead on what was agreed at the 46
th Meeting of the 
SPS Committee, namely, to identify possible measures to be given "priority". 
2. In order to launch this new stage, we believe  it is important to share the following thoughts 
with other Members: 
 
(a) It is essential to protect the balance of rights and obligations which Members have 
laid down in the SPS Agreement, observing the principles of international law and 
adapting national regulations to the commitments undertaken; 
(b) it is the Members of the WTO that have the responsibility, the capacity and the legal 
instruments needed to reaffirm the appli cation and validity of the standards they 
agreed for the purpose of regulating international trade.  Consequently, the 
SPS Committee is the competent multilateral fo rum in which to find solutions to the 
new concerns raised by Members in regard to market access and directly related to sanitary and phytosanitary matters; 
(c) although we do not disregard the key role played by private actors in international 
trade, we consider that it is a priority to preserve the State's role in regulatory matters, 
particularly when it is a question of sanita ry and phytosanitary measures.  We believe 
it is important to create positive State/privat e sector synergies in order to make the 
best use of the opportunities and benefits ope ned up by international trade, but on the 
basis of clear and defined roles, each respecting the other's competence and 
attributions; 
(d) we consider that the work carried out on Members' experience in specific cases has 
been extremely positive.  This interc hange showed that some Members had 
encountered situations in which private standards had not caused greater prejudice or had even been beneficial to some extent .  On the other hand, for the most part G/SPS/W/249 
Page 2  
 
  Member's experiences caused serious concern, with practical examples being given of 
how private standards departed from the offi cial regulations (the national regulations 
of the importer or international regulati ons) and how they had had a negative trade 
impact.  It is our view that the informa tion provided is sufficient and eloquent enough 
to allow the SPS Committee to emba rk upon the search for solutions; 
(e) MERCOSUR considers that the solutions to the concerns raised by some Members 
regarding the proliferation and content of private standards should serve to facilitate 
trade on the basis of clear and WTO-consiste nt rules.  Accordingly, the Committee's 
aim should be to create operational mechanisms  to enable us to find solutions to 
practical problems of access, avoiding the creation or maintenance of unjustified 
trade restrictions that weaken the comm itments made at the multilateral level. 
3. On the basis of these considerations, MERCOSUR is  suggesting that priority be given to the 
following recommendations listed by the Secretariat in document G/SPS/W/247, based on the justification given below for each of them: 
A. M
ECHANISM TO RESOLVE SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERNS  
4. This is one of the items most commonly found on the Committee' s agenda, under which 
Members raise concerns relating to the adoption of measures which, in their view, unjustifiably 
restrict their exports.  There are four sub-items unde r this item:  (i) new concerns;  (ii) concerns 
already raised;  (iii) examination of notifications received;  and (iv) information on issues resolved. 
5. MERCOSUR considers that Members should be urged to raise in meetings of the SPS 
Committee specific trade concerns relating to pract ical problems encountered by Members as a result 
of the application of a particular private standard .  The Member in which the organization or entity 
that has developed or implemented the standard in question is located will then request this private 
organization or entity to explain the regulati on and will follow it up in order to respond. 
6. This proposal has several objectives: 
(a) To raise the level of communication between Members and entities which adopt 
private standards.  In our view, better exchange between both parties could be 
extremely useful in clarifying certain pr ovisions and overcoming various problems; 
(b) to facilitate understanding of the motiv es/reasons/justifi cation underpinning a 
standard, including risk assessment where applicable; 
(c) to allow exporting Members to try to find positive solutions to the specific problems 
detected, by raising their concerns a nd clarifying those aspects of the private 
standards that give rise to reservations. 
B. MONITORING OF PRIVATE STANDARDS  
7. Based on the contributions by Members, observers and the Secretariat, MERCOSUR 
considers that the Committee should continually m onitor new developments in relation to private 
standards, paying special attention to the trade pr oblems caused by their implementation.  Such a 
mechanism will enable the Committee to have up-to-date informati on on the issue and, eventually, to 
use this to examine other work  options within the Committee.  G/SPS/W/249 
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  C. GUIDELINES ON ARTICLE 13 
8. Article 13 of the SPS Agreement provides for two obligations on Members regarding the 
measures adopted by "non-governmental  entities within their territories": 
• Obligation to do something (action ):  "Members shall take such reasonable measures 
as may be available to them to ensure  that non-governmental entities within their 
territories, as well as regional bodies in which relevant entities within their territories are members, comply with th e relevant provisions of this Agreement ." 
• Obligation to abstain from doing something (omission
):  "Members shall not take 
measures which have the effect of, directly  or indirectly, requiring or encouraging 
such regional or non-governmental entities, or local governmental bodies, to act in a 
manner inconsistent with the provisions of this Agreement ." 
9. Nevertheless, in the course of the discussions it became clear that not all Members interpreted 
and applied Article 13 of the SPS Agreement in the same way, which is why we consider that the 
SPS Committee has the responsibility (and the authority) to adopt "Guidelines" establishing common 
criteria to allow Members to apply the commitments laid down in Article 13 uniformly.  
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