WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/683 
5 April 2006 
 
 (06-1622) 
Committee on Sanitary and  
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT 
 
Information for the Workshop on 31 March 2006  
 
Communication from Honduras  
 
  The following communication, received on 30 Marc h 2006, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Honduras. 
 
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 1. In preparation for the Workshop on the Implem entation 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. Honduras has participated continuously for the last two years (with the exception of certain 
meetings), thanks to the support of the SPS Initia tive for the Countries of the Americas.  This 
Initiative is implemented in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on 
Agriculture (IICA), the United States Department of  Agriculture (USDA) and the six countries which 
form the steering committee (A rgentina, Brazil, Chile, the United States and Mexico). 
2. Who usually participates from your country (capital-based experts?  Geneva-based 
trade representatives?)? 
3. Delegates from the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (SAG) and the Ministry of Industry 
and Trade (SIC), and an official from the Permanent Mission of Honduras in Geneva. 
3. What information do you receive regarding  meetings of the SPS Committee, and how do 
you receive this information? 
4. Information is received from three main  sources before and after each SPS Committee 
meeting:  the IICA, the Permanent Mission of Ho nduras in Geneva, and directly from the WTO web 
site. 
4. Does your country have an SPS national committee? 
5. Yes.  Thanks to its participation in SPS  Committee meetings, Honduras became aware of the 
need to set up a national SPS committee.  The Na tional Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures was established with the support of th e IICA Office in Honduras under Agreement No. 651-
04 of 18 August 2004.  However, owing to internal administrative problems, the Committee did not G/SPS/GEN/683 
Page 2  
 
  hold its first meeting until the end of 2005.  The Co mmittee's rules of procedure are currently being 
drawn up and a national age nda is being defined.  
5. How do your exporters find out about you r trading partners' new SPS requirements? 
6. Through the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (enquiry point) and the Ministry of 
Industry and Trade (notification point).  Both mi nistries have a web site through which they can 
inform the public and receive comments a nd observations regarding notifications. 
6. What national mechanisms can be create d to ensure that 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. Ideally, a mechanism should be created to en sure that notifications submitted to the WTO 
Secretariat by other Members and draft SPS measures to be adopted by competent national bodies can 
be analysed effectively.  
8. It is hoped that the creation of the Nati onal SPS Committee, which includes representatives 
from the public and private institutions directly in volved in such matters, will improve coordination 
and communication with private sector exporters .  The Committee will facilitate the communication 
and analysis of any measures introduced by trading partners which might have an economic impact on 
the country, and will enhance the country's  capacity to respond to such measures. 
9. Through the Ministry of Agriculture, consulta tions are currently being organized with private 
sector exporters so that views can be exchanged re garding the SPS requirements of Member countries.  
However, it has not yet been possible to establish a regular and permanent mechanism that ensures all 
stakeholders are informed of requirements in a timely manner. 
10. Within the Ministry, a procedure has been in troduced which is similar to that established in 
other Member countries: 
 - Each week, a list of the notifications received and/or accessed via the WTO/SPS 
web site is drawn up.  These notifications are classified in terms of trade interest 
for Honduran exports. 
 - Further information is requested from the notifying Member and notifications are 
forwarded to the public and private in stitutions responsible for sanitary and 
phytosanitary matters. 
 - The plant and animal health authorities meet twice a week to review relevant 
notifications and take th e appropriate decisions. 
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? 
11. By setting up a database containing details of  the stakeholders and by holding interactive 
meetings to provide information about benefits and obligations ar ising from the effective follow-up 
and implementation of the SPS Agreement.  Th e National SPS Committee would be an effective 
vehicle for supporting and following-up any action taken to reinforce these activities.  G/SPS/GEN/683 
 Page 3 
 
 
  8. How can information about SPS requirements be transmitted to groups outside of the 
capital? 
12. Through the regional offices of the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock, through Chambers 
of Commerce and by fax and e-mail etc. 
9. Has there been any national planning on  how to implement the SPS Agreement in your 
country? 
13. There has been no specific national planning on how to implement the SPS Agreement.  The 
sanitary and phytosanitary authorities address issues directly, together with the sectors concerned, 
depending on their nature. 
14. Through the National SPS Committee, a nationa l agenda will be drawn up to reinforce any 
action that is taken to further the eff ective implementation of the Agreement.  
10. If so, was this planning developed using a particular methodology?  How does your 
country identify its technical assistance needs?   What has been your country's experience in 
both the request and the supply of SPS-related  technical assistance?  How can technical 
assistance supply and demand be most effectivel y matched, priority areas identified and 
duplication of donor efforts avoided? 
15. Technical assistance needs are identified on the basis of the country's commitments and 
obligations in respect of international refere nce bodies, and its commitments arising from the 
conclusion of bilateral or  multilateral agreements. 
16. Demand for technical assistance outweighs suppl y.  An effective way to match technical 
assistance supply and demand would therefore be to im plement a plan for tackling priority training 
needs in the short and medium term, which woul d allow cooperating countries to coordinate their 
assistance programmes so as to a void the duplication of efforts. 
 
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