WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/775 
15 May 2007 
 (07-1994) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
RELATIONSHIP WITH CODEX, IPPC AND OIE 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
  
1. As noted in the report of the Second Review, the cooperation between the SPS Committee 
and the Codex, IPPC and OIE is multi-faceted.  The purpose of this document is to provide background information on various aspects of the re lationship between the implementation of the SPS 
Agreement and the work of the Codex, IPPC and OIE. 
SPS Committee 
2. With respect to the SPS Committee directly, th ese three organizations were granted regular 
(permanent) observer status by th e Committee at its first meeting of March 1995.  In light of their 
explicit recognition in the SPS Agreement itself, these organizations are invited to speak on any 
relevant agenda item at meetings of the SPS Committ ee, and not only with regard to their technical 
assistance activities or to report on other relevant  activities under the agenda item dedicated to 
observer organizations.  Hence if discussions of sp ecific trade concerns address, for example, wood 
packaging materials, the IPPC may be given the floo r to explain the status of  implementation of ISPM 
15, or Codex may be asked to provide informati on regarding the development of a standard for 
sulphur dioxide in cinnamon.  Information from a ll three organizations was actively solicited by the 
Committee in its discussions on equivalence (Article 4), as well as from OIE and IPPC with regard to 
recognition of pest- or disease-free areas (Article 6). 
3. The provisional procedure for monitoring the use of international standards, developed by the 
Committee as mandated by Article 12.4 of the S PS Agreement (G/SPS/11/Rev.1), also explicitly 
requests the participation of the Codex, IPPC a nd OIE in providing information on issues that have 
been identified under this agenda item by Members,  and to keep the Committee informed of further 
work on these issues.   
4. The Codex, IPPC and OIE thus directly and actively contribute to discussions of the SPS 
Committee.  They have consistently responde d positively to specific requests from the SPS 
Committee and to concerns identified through the monitoring procedure as well as through other 
Committee discussions. 
5. In the Second Review, some Members noted that by further clarifying the relationship 
between the Committee and the international st andards-setting bodies, the Committee could avoid 
duplication of effort in the development of its wo rk programme.  Suggestions to further clarify the 
roles of these organizations vis-à-vis the SPS Co mmittee were submitted by Canada (G/SPS/W/158), 
New Zealand (G/SPS/W/158, W/179 and W/206), Br azil (G/SPS/W/182), Colombia (G/SPS/W/188) 
and Chile (G/SPS/W/203).  
                                                     
 
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/GEN/775 
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  6. Most of these proposals stress the distinct ye t complementary roles of the SPS Committee and 
the international standards-setting bodies in providi ng guidance and elaborating disciplines related to 
international standards, guidelines, and recomme ndations.  While the various proposals are in 
agreement that technical and scientific matters pe rtaining to the application of the SPS Agreement 
should be referred to the relevant standard-setting body, views differ as to whether related procedural 
or administrative issues should be the domain of the SPS Committee or of the Codex, IPPC or OIE..  
Several Members have suggested that it would be useful to request the Codex, IPPC and OIE to 
describe their respective mandates, including thei r interests and ability to develop procedural 
guidelines, and for the SPS Committee to discuss th e optimal process for effective collaboration and 
communication with these organizations.   
7. One proposal notes that although the number of in ternational standards continues to increase, 
very little information is available regarding the application of these standards by Members.  The 
proposal is that Members notify all changes to their SPS import requirements, whether or not they represent a deviation for the international standa rd, and provide more detail about the relevant 
international standard.  The proposal is that the S ecretariat review this information and transmit it to 
the standard-setting bodies, and coordinate efforts to  ascertain the level of use of the international 
standards. 
8. Another problem that has periodically been id entified is that of poor coordination at the 
national level between a Member's representatives to the SPS Committee and their representation to 
Codex, IPPC and OIE.  A lack of sufficient coordi nation often results in inc onsistency in the positions 
taken by Members in the different bodies.  This is particularly common with regard to what issues a 
particular Member supports as be ing of importance and priority within the SPS Committee, compared 
to the position of the same Member  on similar issues under considera tion in the Codex, IPPC or OIE 
bodies. 
9. In March 2001, the WTO Secretariat organized a workshop on "The International Standard- 
Setting Organizations:  Process and Participation";  the report of the workshop was circulated as 
G/SPS/GEN/250.  At the workshop, representatives of Codex, IPPC and OIE described the various 
procedures used by their respective organizations to  develop and adopt international standards, and 
focussed on how developing country Members could most  effectively participate in the process.  That 
workshop did not, however, focus on the scope and ma ndates of the work of each organization, nor 
did it address the concerns regarding the lack of in formation on the use of in ternational standards by 
importing Members or the lack of coordination among national representatives to the SPS Committee, 
the Codex, IPPC and/or OIE.   
Institutional level 
 
10. At a formal level, a cooperation agreement w as developed between the OIE and WTO in July 
1998, at the request of OIE members (WT/L/272).  No  such formal agreement exists with the Codex 
or IPPC, nor with the FAO or WHO.  However, in October 2000 the General Council requested that 
the Director-General explore with the relevant international standard-setting organizations and 
relevant intergovernmental orga nizations financial and technical mechanisms to assist the 
participation of developing countries in standard-setti ng activities;  and that he coordinate efforts with 
the relevant international standa rd-setting organizations to identif y SPS-related technical assistance 
needs and how best to address these,  taking into consideration the im portance of bilateral and regional 
technical assistance in this regard.  The Genera l Council also agreed to encourage international 
standard setting organizations to ensure the par ticipation of Members at different levels of 
development and from all geographic regions, th roughout all phases of standard development. 
11. Although secretariat-to-secretariat collabora tion has existed since the beginning of the 
negotiation of the SPS Agreement, the General C ouncil decision led to periodic meetings at the  G/SPS/GEN/775 
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  highest levels between the WTO and the FAO, and the WTO and the WHO.  There were also high-
level meetings involving the FAO, OIE, and W HO, as well as meetings with potential financial 
organizations active with respect to SPS capacity- building.  The Director-General's reports on his 
activities are contained in documents WT/GC/42,  WT/GC/45, WT/GC/46/Rev.1, and WT/GC/54.  
These actions resulted in a joint declaration issued by the heads of the FAO, OIE, World Bank, WHO 
and WTO at the Doha Ministerial Conference in November 2001 (WT/MIN(01)/ST/97, stating the 
commitment of these organizations to coordinate their capacity-building activities with respect to 
sanitary and phytosanitary measures.  One major outco me of this coordination was the creation of the 
Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF). 
12. At the high-level meetings among the organi zations, the concern of the WTO General 
Council with regard to the issue of participati on by developing countries in the standard-setting 
activities of the Codex, IPPC and OIE was also ra ised.  This concern has been addressed by the 
establishment of trust funds and other programmes to  assist the effective participation of developing 
countries in the standard-setting activities and meetings  of the Codex, IPPC and OIE.  Information on 
these various programmes and funds is regular ly provided to the SPS Committee by the 
representatives of these organizations.  
13. There is a frequent, informal exchange of info rmation and assistance between the secretariats 
also at the technical level, with regard to a wide range of issues of mutual interest. 
14. In the context of technical assistance, the C odex, IPPC and OIE are regularly invited to 
participate in regional training activities organized by the WTO secretariat on the SPS Agreement, as 
well as to some of the national SPS activities.  In  many cases, the organizations jointly develop the 
programme for training.  As noted in G/SPS/GEN/ 521/Rev.2 on technical assistance, since 1994 the 
Codex has participated in 60 regi onal workshops, the IPPC in 47 activ ities, and the OIE in 57 regional 
activities. 
15. In addition, these three organizations participat e in other technical assistance activities, for 
example, the elaboration of distance-learning courses on the SPS Agreement.  The second Specialized 
Trade Policy Course on the SPS Agreement was conducte d in collaboration with the OIE, whereas the 
Codex has agreed to play a similar role in the third Specialized Trade Policy Course (22 October – 
3 November 2007).  There is also secretariat-to-s ecretariat collaboration in the organization of 
workshops in the margins of meetings of the Codex, IPPC or OIE on issues relating to the 
implementation of the SPS Agreement. 
16. The Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) has provided another mechanism for 
cooperation between the WTO, Codex, IPPC and OI E in capacity-building. The OIE is one of the 
partner agencies, as is the FAO and the WHO.  The Codex and IPPC are members of the STDF Working Group, in order to maximize the flow of  information regarding relevant capacity-building 
activities, as well as to provide their expertise in the consideration of project proposals.  Detailed information regarding the STDF and the proj ects it has funded is contained in document 
G/SPS/GEN/748.. 
Dispute settlement 
 
17. In the context of the WTO dispute settlement pr ocess, the Codex, IPPC  and OIE also have a 
specific role.  In all disputes invoking the SPS Agre ement to date, the dis pute settlement panel has 
decided to seek scientific or technical advice as pr ovided for in Article 11.2 of the SPS Agreement.  
As noted in the reports of the various dispute se ttlement panels, in the first instance the relevant 
organization(s) has been requested to identify potent ial experts on various topics, for consideration by 
the panel in consultation with the parties to the dis pute.  In some circumstances, the Codex, IPPC or 
OIE secretariat have also been invited to provide  information directly to the panel regarding G/SPS/GEN/775 
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  procedural matters.  For example, in the EC – Hormones  case, the Codex secretariat was invited to 
provide information to the panel with regard to Codex procedures for the adoption of standards, as 
well as for the review of standards in li ght of new scientific evidence.  In the EC- Biotech  case, the 
panel requested information from the secret ariats of the Codex, IPPC and OIE, inter alia , with respect 
to the meaning of certain terms and concepts. 
18. Finally, SPS Article 11.3 indicates that WTO Members may choose to use the dispute 
resolution procedures of other bodies with respect to SPS-related measures.  The IPPC and the OIE 
have formal procedures for settling disputes between  their members on issues within their respective 
mandates. 
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