. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/764 
28 February 2007 
 (07-0835) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English 
  
 
 
REPORT BY THE COMMONWEALTH OF  THE BAHAMAS TO THE WTO-SPS 
COMMITTEE ON PRIVATE STANDARDS  AND THE SPS AGREEMENT:  
THE BAHAMAS EXPERIENCE 
 
Communication from the Bahamas
 
   The following communication, received on 27 Fe bruary 2007, is being circulated at the 
request of the Bahamas. 
 
 
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 1. The Bahamas has little experience in regard s to international private standards. 
2. A larger problem in The Bahamas is the use by  local companies, such as the larger hotels, 
restaurant chains and food importers of international or private standard s.  The reasons for this may be 
due to their international parent companies, fo r insurance purposes or international certification as 
they may cater to international travellers, although th ey are not required to do so by law. As these are 
large buyers, many companies cannot satisfy the volum e required even if they meet the standards, as 
only a percentage of their stock would meet the standards as most are small producers.  
3. Some companies do export.  However, they accept meeting the national standards of the 
importing countries as a normal part of business, although difficulties are sometimes experienced when timelines are too short. Timelines for even large and multilateral businesses in countries with 
small and vulnerable economies need to be more fl exible than for those in  developed countries as 
difficulties are exacerbated by few local suppliers for inputs and more difficulties making 
infrastructural changes. 
4. One seafood company which exports to a major restaurant chain in the United States 
appreciates the increased burden of the private sta ndards that the company has and looks at it as an 
opportunity, as it means that many other companies will not work with that company because their 
standards are so rigorous.  In fact, they will accept no cosmetic blemishes on their product while only 
paying market prices.  Even though this means that  only about eighty percent of their stock may pass 
those standards, the sheer volume and sustained natu re of the market makes it a viable and valuable 
trade partner.   
5. International companies are better prepared to m eet or adapt to changes in standards as they 
are more familiar with these, have bigger budgets which allow for flexibility and their structures and 
administration are already adapted to meeting interna tional standards.  They are therefore better able 
to take advantage of any opportunities available th rough private standards.  Even among international 
companies, their capacity to adapt and take adva ntage of these opportunities are not the same and are 
affected by the level of regulation of their trading partners.  For example, one local company which is G/SPS/GEN/764 
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  owned by a European-based company had less difficu lty adapting to the new requirements in regards 
to packing materials and wooden pallets than anothe r local company whose trading partners were the 
United States and the Caribbean, as the European -owned company was already complying with 
European regulations. 
6. The problem for smaller businesses (especially in countries with small and vulnerable 
economies) with private standards as apposed to in ternational or national standards is that these 
private standards often times are felt to be burdensome and unnecessary.  They may be light-years more detailed and complicated than what is require d nationally, therefore they may appear whimsical 
and capricious with little scientific basis.  This feelin g may be reinforced as there is very little, if any, 
recourse in case of a dispute.  No established mech anism of recourse for dispute settlement is in place 
in regards to private standards as these private sta ndards are made up by the companies with the only 
requirement being that they must be at least as ri gorous as the national standards.  In contrast, for a 
Member of the WTO there is an established mechanism for dispute settlement, even though it may be 
more onerous on small and vulnerable economies. 
7. The experiences suggest that standards in ge neral are a valuable tool in promoting 
international trade by assuring trading partners of th e quality of the product.  However, this tool can 
be abused, as without recourse or regulation it can become a political or economic weapon.  It also 
favours the larger and international companies as they are better resourced and adapted to take 
advantage of opportunities, through their capacity to  make any changes required and their scale of 
production. 
8. Private standards need to be established in collaboration with trading partners, with 
mechanisms established to assist businesses in sma ll and vulnerable economies to overcome some of 
the natural biases with which they are affected.  This may include the provision of technical 
assistance, financing and extended timelines for comp liance.  Establishing marketing cooperatives 
internationally mitigates the limitations due  to scale of production and other limitations. 
 
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