WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/682 
5 April 2006 
 
 (06-1621) 
Committee on Sanitary and  
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT 
 
Information for the Workshop on 31 March 2006  
 
Communication from Guatemala  
 
 The following communication, received on 30 Marc h 2006, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Guatemala. 
 
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 1. In preparation for the workshop on the impl ementation of the SPS Agreement, participants 
were asked to provide replies to the following questions.  
 1. How regularly do representatives of your country participate in meetings of the SPS Committee? 
  
2. Since the SPS initiative for countries of the Americas sponsored by the IICA, the USDA and 
the Steering Committee group, Guatemala has participated  in almost all of the meetings. Before this, 
its participation was sporadic.  
2. Who usually participates from your country  (capital-based experts?  Geneva-based 
trade representatives?)? 
 3. Under the above-mentioned initiative, Guatemal a was able to ensure the participation of 
capital-based experts, sometimes accompanie d by Geneva-based trade representatives. 
 
3. What information do you receive regarding  meetings of the SPS Committee and how do 
you receive this information?   
 
4. In most cases, Guatemala receives its info rmation through the IICA, and sometimes through 
the Ministry of the Economy.  
4. Does your country have an SPS national committee? 
 
5. Yes, it has an informal committee, with a lega l basis in certain free tr ade agreements which, 
in the chapter on SPS, stipulate that the committee shall be in charge of all SPS-related matters. G/SPS/GEN/682 
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  5. How do your exporters find out about you r trading partners' new SPS requirements? 
 
6. The Standards and Regulations Unit of the Mi nistry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food, is 
responsible for communicating all notifications to  the sectors affected by SPS measures from the 
WTO. 
 
6. What national mechanisms can be create d to ensure the stakeholders in your country 
are informed in a timely manner of new SPS requirements so that the SPS requirements of 
trading partners can be evaluated and so that the views of relevant stakeholders can be taken into account when responding to SPS notifications? 
 7. Notifications are sent for informati on to all organized groups through the  Standards and 
Regulations Unit. There is also the National C odex Committee, which examines all notifications on 
food safety. This committee is composed of represen tatives of the Ministries of Agriculture, Health, 
and Economy, and of private sector representatives from the food industry. In the case of plant and 
animal health there is no formally established group, but if there is a topic of interest and producers 
and exporters might be affected, a meeti ng is called with the group concerned.  
 
7. In establishing such mechanisms, how ca n Members identify the relevant domestic 
stakeholders and promote effective interaction among those stakeholders that can be sustained 
over time?  
 8. We have managed to maintain this pro cedure since the creation of the Standards and 
Regulations Unit in 1998 by remaining in pe rmanent contact with the sectors involved. 
 
8. How can information about SPS requirements be transmitted to groups outside of the 
capital?  
9. The majority of producers are outside of the capital, but since they are organized groups, the 
Standards and Regulations Unit stays in permanent contact with them and keeps them informed on 
matters of interest.   9. Has there been any national planning on  how to implement the SPS Agreement in your 
country? If so, was this planning developed using a particular methodology ? 
 10. We have an institutional strengthening plan to  help with the implementation of SPS measures. 
Furthermore, the agricultural policy programme for 2004-2007 includes the Agricultural Development 
Policy, aimed at providing support for domestic producers and exporters in connection with SPS 
measures.  
10. How does your country identify its technical assistance needs?  
 
11. Repeated diagnoses - through strengths, opp ortunities, weaknesses and threats analyses 
("FODAS" analyses) - of the three components of plant health, animal health and food safety; 
assessment of Guatemala's phytosanitary capacity w ith the support of the FAO; assessment of the 
Veterinary Services with the support of IICA;  and assessment of the Sanitary/Hygienic Services with 
the support of OIRSA.  In each case, we have been able to rely on official staff, on the private 
initiative of the country's productive sectors, and on na tional, regional and inte rnational consultants.  G/SPS/GEN/682 
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  11. What has been your country's experience in both the request and the supply of SPS-
related technical assistance?  
 
12. We have had a fair amount of technical assistance with respect to human resources capacity-building, with professionals who have master's de grees in SPS measures, to laboratory infrastructure, 
training in diagnosis etc. The problem has been that  the trained staff has moved into other areas.  As 
for the laboratories, they have been closed by authorities who are not aware of the importance of 
diagnosis, not to mention other problems.  Conseque ntly, there is now a need to build up the capacity 
of the professional staff in this area and to train them in the new identification techniques in connection with laboratories, biotec hnology and other cutting edge issues. 
 
12. How can technical assistance supply and dema nd be most effectively matched, priority 
areas identified and duplication of donor efforts avoided?   
 
13. We are currently intending to hold a meeti ng with the national and international donor and 
cooperation agencies to focus assistance at the leve l of agricultural chains towards solving specific 
problems, not only as concerns the government but also as regards the sector involved in the chain.  We are doing this because on numerous occasions th ere has been duplication of cooperation or we 
have been offered cooperation and assistance on matters that are of interest to the support country or 
institution rather than to us.  We believe that thro ugh this mechanism, we will be able to profit more 
fully from the assistance provided.  There are also sp ecific weaknesses that have been identified in the 
FODAS analyses and that take priority when it co mes to strengthening the Standards and Regulations 
Unit.  They do not require further analysis since th ey are everyday problems that stand in the way of 
compliance with the SPS requirements.  For exampl e, our border inspection is weak, techniques and 
expertise are lacking and diagnosis is inadequate.  There is no way of detecting maximum limits of 
certain pesticide residues in export products, etc. 
 
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