WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/W/219 
17 March 2008 
 
 (08-1182) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
GOOD OFFICES OF THE CHAIRPERSON 
 
Communication from Argentina
 
  
 The following communication, received on 13 Marc h 2008, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Argentina.  
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 BACKGROUND 
 
1. Article 12.2 of the Agreement on the Applica tion on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS Agreement) encourages Members to hold ad  hoc consultations, in cluding through the good 
offices of the Chairperson of the SPS Committee, to facilitate the resolution of specific trade 
concerns.  In this respect, it provides that: 
"The Committee shall encourage and facilitate  ad hoc consultations or negotiations 
among Members on specific sanitary or phytosanitary issues. (...)." 
2. Document JOB(07)/14 prepared by the WTO Secretariat shows that, to date, the ad  hoc 
consultations provided for in Article  12.2 have involved:  (1) Members raising specific trade concerns 
at regular meetings of the SPS Committee;  (2) di scussions by the Committee of specific issues such 
as implementation of ISPM 15, or private/commercia l standards;  and (3) the use of the good offices 
of the Chairperson. 
3. With regard to the good offices of the Chairper son, paragraph 6 of the Working Procedures of 
the Committee
1  provides that: 
"With respect to any matter which has been raised under the Agreement, the 
Chairperson may, at the request of the Members directly concerned, assist them in 
dealing with the matter in question.  Th e Chairperson shall normally report to the 
Committee on the general outcome with respect to the matter in question." 
4. The yearly summary prepared by the WTO Secretariat of the specific trade concerns2 raised at 
SPS Committee meetings shows that the good offices of  the Chairperson have been 'underused'  in 
comparison with the other types of ad hoc consultati ons provided for in the Agreement.  They have in 
fact only been used on three occasions3, despite the substantial number  of specific trade concerns 
raised at each SPS Committee meeting. 
                                                      
1 G/SPS/1. 
2 G/SPS/GEN/204 and its revisions. 
3 By Argentina, Chile, South Africa and Uruguay in  respect of measures adopted by the European 
Communities in relation to citrus canker, in March 19 98 (G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.6/Add. 3, paragraphs 25 to 88 
(Concern No. 27));  by the United States in respect of restrictions imposed by Poland on wheat and oilseeds, in G/SPS/W/219 
Page 2  
 
  5. It would appear that one of the reasons for this underuse is the lack of specific guidance 
concerning access to and the functioning of the mechanism.  Argentina therefore welcomes the 
Secretariat's recommendation to provide " more explicit guidance of the use of 'Good Offices' ".
4  
Below, Argentina wishes to share with Members its  proposal for a decision regulating the functioning 
of good offices. 
PROCEDURE 
 
6. Any Member which considers that the adoption and/or application of a sanitary or 
phytosanitary measure unjustifiably affects its  exports may request the good offices of the 
Chairperson of the SPS Committee.  This request shall be sent, in writing, to the Member that adopted 
and/or applies the measure, with a copy to th e WTO Secretariat and the Chairperson of the 
SPS Committee. 
7. The request should clearly indicate:  (i) the reasons for requesting the good offices;  (ii) the 
measure(s) affecting exports;  (iii) the trade affected ;  (iv) the legal basis for the request, including the 
applicable articles of the SPS Agreement and, if  any, the pertinent standards, guidelines and 
recommendations developed by the relevant in ternational organizations mentioned in the 
SPS Agreement. 
8. The Member to which the request is sent should reply in writing within 30 days of its receipt, 
explicitly accepting or refusing the initiation of good o ffices.  The reply shall be sent to the requesting 
Member, with a copy to the WTO Secretariat and the Chairperson of the SPS Committee.  The 
Members agree to do their utmost to accept the good offices of the Chairperson.  However, if a 
request is refused, the Chairperson shall include  the matter on the agenda of the subsequent 
Committee meeting and inform the Membership.  The Chairperson shall give the parties the 
opportunity to make a brief oral statement on the matter during the Committee meeting. 
9. Should the Member accept the request for good offices, the Committee Chairperson, in 
consultation with the parties, shall set a date for a meeting which shall take place within a maximum 
of 45 days of the receipt of the request for good o ffices.  This meeting should preferably be held in 
Geneva. 
10. The good offices of the Committee Chairperson shall be confidential.  Only  the delegations of 
the duly accredited parties, the Committee Chairpers on (who shall be responsib le for coordinating the 
meeting), the WTO Secretariat, and interested th ird Members – provided this is accepted by the 
parties – shall participate in the meeting.  At the requ est of any of the parties, and provided there is an 
international standard, guideline or recomme ndation on the matter, a representative from the 
secretariat of any of the three relevant interna tional organizations (Codex, OIE, IPPC) may also 
participate in the meeting.  The participation of su ch representatives shall be limited to explaining the 
scope and/or content of the standards, guidelines or recommendations invoked by the parties.  They 
may also reply to requests for clarification or to other enquiries from the Chairperson or the parties.  
At no time may they give a direct opinion on the national measure under consideration or its 
consistency with the international st andards, guidelines or recommendations. 
11. During the good offices, the Chairperson shall prov ide all the support he can with a view to 
bringing the parties closer together and shall guide  them towards a mutually satisfactory solution to 
the problem identified.  The Chairperson shall ensu re that the parties have the maximum freedom to 
                                                                                                                                                                     
November 1998 (G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.6/ Add.2, paragraphs 444 and 445 (Con cern No. 25));  an d by Canada in 
respect of import restrictions imposed by India on bovine semen, in March 2001 (G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.6/Add.2, paragraphs 327 to 335 (Concern No. 61)). 
4 Job(07)/14, paragraph 30.  G/SPS/W/219 
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  express their positions on the matter and that the gr eatest possible flexibility is afforded during the 
process. 
12. The Members agree that all negotiations un der the auspices of the good offices of the 
Chairperson shall be held in good faith. 
13. In the event that the parties find a mutually sa tisfactory solution, the Chairperson shall draft a 
proposed report with a brief descriptive summary of  the proceedings.  The proposed report shall be 
submitted to the parties for their consideration and shall not contain any information that the parties 
consider confidential.  Once the content has been established, the Chairperson shall send a copy of the 
report to the WTO Secretariat for distribution to the rest of the Membership.  At the SPS Committee 
meeting immediately following the good offices meeting,  the Chairperson shall give his report orally 
and the parties may share with the rest of th e Membership their positive experience and the 
satisfactory solution found. 
14. Should the parties not find a satisfactory solution,  they may:  (i) request that the Chairperson 
convene a second meeting or (ii) consider the Chai rperson's intervention complete, thus terminating 
his good offices. 
15. In the event that the parties consider the good offices terminated, the Chairperson shall have a 
period of up to 15 days in which to prepare a brief report of the proceedings, including recommendations to the parties on finding a solution to the problem. 
16. The Committee Chairperson's recommendations are not binding for the parties.  Nevertheless, 
the parties agree on the importance of doing ev erything within reason to implement these 
recommendations. 
17. The parties are given period of 15 days from th e receipt of the Chairperson's report to say 
whether they wish to abide by the recommendations or not.  In any case, the Chairperson shall give a 
report to the Committee, as provided for in paragraph 13 in fine .  At the subsequent SPS Committee 
meeting, the Chairperson shall present his report oral ly and give the parties the opportunity to express 
their positions on the matter. 
18. The good offices shall be confidential and without prejudice to the rights of either party in 
any further proceedings. 
19. The time-limits in these proceedings are calcula ted in calendar days.  All communications to 
Members shall be sent to the Me mber's WTO Mission and to the national notification authorities 
specified by the Members.
5 
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5 G/SPS/NNA series.