WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/570 
21 June 2005 
 
 (05-2624) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 Spanish 
 
 
 
ACTIONS AIMED AT IMPLEMENTING THE WTO AGREEMENT 
ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND 
PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
  
 The following communication, received on 18 June 2005, is being circulated at the request of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA). 
 
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 1. The observer organizations of the WTO Comm ittee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures 
(SPS) are invited to submit reports on the activities they have carried out to further understanding and 
implementation of the SPS Agreement. 
A. 
SPS INITIATIVE FOR THE COUNTRIES OF THE AMERICAS  
2. The IICA, together with the United States Depa rtment of Agriculture (USDA) and the six 
countries that make up the Steering Committee (Arg entina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and the 
United States) continue to implement the SPS Initiative for the Americas (the Initiative). 
3. This Initiative, which was launched in October 2002, will have completed,  in June 2005, the 
ninth consecutive meeting, supporting the partic ipation of the countries of the Americas and 
promoting national capacity-building. 
4. As part of the initiative and of the responsib ilities assumed, the beneficiary countries have had 
to implement actions at the institutional level.  These include the dissemination and analysis of the 
topics addressed by the SPS Committee,  as a result of which, in some countries, national mechanisms 
for inter-institutional coordinati on have been strengthened and S PS topics have been placed on the 
national agenda. 
5. The countries that have been most success ful in implementing these actions have seen 
improvements in other key variables:  coordination between their national experts (capital) and their 
WTO representatives (Geneva);  t echnical capacity-building of personnel in this field; and the 
procurement of financial resources. 
6. At the June 2005 meeting, 33 of the IICA's 34 member States are participating, 27 with 
financial support.  Of the 38 capital-based experts with full or partial financial support from the 
Initiative, 27 are from Ministries of Agriculture (71 pe r cent), 9 from ministries that deal with trade 
issues (24 per cent), and 2 from Ministries of Health (5 per cent). 
7. For further information, contact: kevin.walker@iica.int  (Kevin Walker), 
erick.bolanos@iica.int  (Eric Bolaños), gregg.young@usda.gov  (Gregg Young), 
marianne.mcelroy@fas.usda.gov  (Marianne McElroy), henry.schmick@usda.gov  (Henry Schmick). G/SPS/GEN/570 
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 B. 
STRENGTHENING NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL HEA LTH AND FOOD SAFETY SERVICES THROUGH 
THE PREPARATION OF A COMMON VISION AND ACTION  
8. The IICA, together with the World Organiza tion for Animal Health (OIE), has begun 
implementation of the Performance, Vision and Stra tegy (PVS) instrument for the animal health 
sector in certain countries of South America.  The PVS was developed by the OIE and the IICA. 
9. This instrument helps bring together the pub lic and private sectors to develop a common 
approach to the proper implementation of the SPS Ag reement.  Colombia was the first country to 
begin the process in South America, and an agenda is currently being prepared for its implementation 
in Ecuador, Chile and Paraguay. 
10. For further information, contact:  ana.cordero@iica.int  (Ana Cordero), kevin.walker@iica.int  
(Kevin Walker). 
C. STRENGTHENING LEADERS HIP IN FOOD SAFETY IN THE AMERICAS  
11. In 2001 and 2002, the IICA conducted four modules of the Executive Series on Leadership in 
Food Safety for the Americas.  In May 2005, 25 participants in these modules from 15 countries met 
again in Colombia to present the results and progress achieved in projects carried out previously and 
to identify new challenges for food safety in the Americas. 
12. As a result of this most recent meeting, tw o strategic multinational projects are under way, 
one focusing on education and training in the ar ea of food safety and social responsibility, and the 
other on boosting the capacity of laboratories. 
13. For further information, contact:  Maria.abularach@iica.int  (Lourdes Abularach) and  
kevin.walker@iica.int  (Kevin Walker). 
D. ACTIVITIES RELATED TO THE IN TERNATIONAL REFERENCE ORGANIZATIONS  
14. The IICA participated in the first meeting of  the Regional Steering Committee of the Global 
Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases (GF-TADS) in America, held in Argentina on 14 and 15 April 2005.  GF-TADS is a joint FAO/OIE initiative intended to 
control and eradicate major animal diseases, incl uding zoonotic diseases, and to modernize national 
veterinary services.  At the meeting, the IICA explained the application of the PVS instrument as a 
support tool for controlling transboundary diseases. 
15. Together with the FAO and the Agriculture a nd Livestock Service of Chile (SAG), the IICA 
supported and the first Hemispheric Meeting on Inte rnational Border Control in Animal and Plant 
Health, also held in April 2005.  At the mee ting, the IICA promoted implementation of the 
SPS Agreement and modernization of national services as  key factors in the effective management of 
transboundary diseases. 
16. With a view to improving transparency and the handling of information, the IICA will support 
the FAO next August in conducting a regional works hop on the International Portal for Food Safety 
and Animal and Plant Health.  This will be the firs t workshop:  it will be held in Argentina, and will 
be attended by representatives of 18 Spanish-speaking countries. 
17. For further information, contact:  kevin.walker@iica.int
 (Kevin Walker), victor.arrua@iica.int  
(Victor Arrua), maureen.obando@iica.int  (Maureen Obando).  G/SPS/GEN/570 
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 E. SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES  
18. Brazil :  In June 2005, the IICA will participate in the Fifteenth International Meeting on 
Health Education and Social Communication (EN ESCO), a Latin American event during which the 
latest and most successful experiences in health education will be presented. 
19. Argentina :  The IICA office in Argentina will continue to provide technical support to the 
Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (SAGPyA), which will be directed to the 
Chairmanship of the CODEX Coordinating Co mmittee for Latin America and the Caribbean 
(CCLAC) and the SPS enquiry point in Argentina: mlfonalleras@iica.org.ar  (Lourdes Fonalleras). 
20. Ecuador :  The IICA has been actively supporting efforts to strengthen institutions for the 
analysis of  the topics addressed in the SPS Comm ittee.  Emphasis has been placed on involving the 
private sector in the process of analysis, in the creation of a national committee, and in improving the 
notification process:  paola.ramon@iica.int  (Paola Ramon). 
21. Dominican Republic :  The IICA is supporting efforts to update the legal and regulatory 
framework in the agricultural hea lth area, including the coordination of a working group created to 
examine two proposed laws, one on plant health pr otection and one on animal health protection. 
22. Support will also be provided for a national workshop on the notification process, scheduled 
for June:  dvanderlinder@iicard.org  (Dilencio Vanderlinder). 
 
Inter-American Institute for C ooperation on Agriculture (IICA) 
Agricultural Health and Food Safety 
http://agriheatlh.ws  
htpp://www.iica.int  
 
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