WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/904 
19 February 2009 
 
 (09-0897) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 Spanish 
 
 
 
ACTIONS FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION  OF THE WTO AGREEMENT ON 
SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES (WTO-SPS) 
 
Information presented by the Inter-American Institute for  
Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA ) 
   The following communication, received on 17 Fe bruary 2009, is being circulated at 
IICA's request. 
 
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 1. The observer organizations of the World Trade Organization's Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures (WTO-SPS) have been invite d to submit reports on the activities organized to 
promote the understanding and implementation of the SPS Agreement.  IICA wishes to highlight 
some actions or activities that it consider s are of interest to this Committee. 
I. IICA-STDF-108 PROJECT 
2. During the last seven years, IICA has invested substantial resources a nd efforts to develop 
institutional capacity in its member countries (34 countries of the Americas) in the area of sanitary 
and phytosanitary standards (SPS), with an interna tional perspective.  The Institute is currently 
implementing the IICA-STDF-108 Project in 28 count ries, with the support of six other countries 
under the modality of horizontal technical cooperation. 
3. The project is designed to help countries carry out their own analysis (self-assessment) of 
their institutional performance, formulate a nati onal agenda and strengthen their institutional 
framework, a task that is largely accomplished through the National SPS Committees or through the 
creation of such committees. 
4. To date, the project has been implemented in 21 of the 28 countries, using the 
SPS Performance, Vision and Strategy Tool  (SPS-PVS), a self-assessment tool developed by IICA in 
the context of the STDF Project. 
5. The national agendas formulated as part of the above project constitute a work plan for the 
national SPS Committees or institutions involved, to  be implemented over a two-year period.  In 
addition, various actions were identified that can be  addressed by international technical cooperation.  
Some of the most important actions of these national agendas include:  the preparation of manuals on transparency procedures;  operating manuals for the national SPS Committees;  modernization of 
national regulatory frameworks;  strengthening risk  analysis capacity;  documentation of successful 
cases to raise awareness among decision-makers , and identification of needs in SPS. G/SPS/GEN/904 
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  6. In addition to the measures implemented at national level, some common actions were 
identified involving countries with in the same region (Central Region, Andean Region, Caribbean 
Region, Southern Region), with a view to formul ating regional SPS projects.  These regional projects 
include actions or issues of common interest to the countries of a particular region. 
7. For more information contact:  ricardo.molins@iica.int
 (Ricardo Molins), 
erick.bolanos@iica.int  (Eric Bolaños). 
II. TRAINING ON INTERNATIONAL STANDARD-SETTING PROCESSES OF THE 
THREE SISTER ORGANIZATIONS 
8. As part of the SPS training program developed by IICA, a total of 11 training courses were 
implemented on the standard-setting process of the three sister organizations (Codex Alimentarius, 
OIE and IPPC). 
9. The general objectives  of these courses were:  to discuss th e importance in international trade 
of the standards, guidelines and recommendations i ssued by these three organizations;  to promote 
understanding of the standard-setting process at the national, regional and international levels, 
emphasizing the need for public-private participati on and interaction in order to define national 
positions;  and to increase the participation of Latin  American and Caribbean (LAC) countries in the 
standard-setting processes. 
10. The organizations that provided support  for the implementation of the courses were:  (a) for 
the technical presentations:  Codex Alimentarius, OIE, the Southern Cone Plant Health Committee 
(COSAVE), and (b) for funding or the events:  th e United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). 
11. Dates of the training events, cove rage and type of participant :  the courses were designed and 
recommended for public and private-sector officials whose work is directly or indirectly linked to the 
formulation, application and supe rvision of SPS, but who have lim ited experience or  knowledge about 
the three sister organizations and their work.  Th e aim was to expand the human resource base trained 
in the international standard-setting processes. 
Course on: Number of 
countries 
served Number of 
participants Cost per 
participant Duration of 
the course Implementation 
date 
Codex 
Alimentarius 28 508 US$69 2 days June 2008 
OIE 28 552 US$45 1 day October 2008 
IPPC 17 317 US$47 1 day November 2008 
 
12. Training technique :  The courses were imparted using the services of IICA's Distance 
Training Center (CECADI), based in San Jose, Co sta Rica.  This approach enabled countries to 
participate in the course via interactive videoconf erence transmitted in real time.  Countries with 
limited access to this technology participated via webcast .  The only people who needed to travel were 
the trainers/facilitators, the trainees remaining in  their countries of origin.  The workshops were 
organized on a regional basis to avoid overloading  the system's capacity and to ensure that the 
workshops addressed each region's specific needs (Cen tral, Caribbean, Andean, Southern).  Thanks to 
these technologies the costs per participant were kept  very low - from 45 to 69 dollars depending on 
the course, which underscores the great advantages offe red by this approach in terms of cost and the 
possibility of expanding the coverage of the courses. 
13. For more information contact:  ricardo.molins@iica.int  (Ricardo Molins) and 
ericka.calderon@iica.int  (Ericka Calderon).  G/SPS/GEN/904 
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  III. IMPORTANT EVENTS COMING SOON: 
A. WORKSHOPS ON RISK EVALUATION  
14. In 2009, IICA will be imparting regional training courses on risk assessment for chemical and 
microbiological contaminants in food, in partne rship with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln 
(United States), using videoconferen cing technology.  The courses will be imparted to 32 countries of 
the Americas, both in English and in Spanish.  Fo r more information contact:  ricardo.molins@iica.int  
(Ricardo Molins). 
B. WORKSHOPS ON GOOD PARTICIPATION PRACTICES  
15. IICA is developing four manuals on go od participation practices concerning the 
WTO-SPS Committee, the Codex, the OIE and the IPPC .  The purpose of these manuals is to provide 
basic inputs and essential information on participati on to all delegates who lack experience or are 
called upon to represent their country for the first time in one of these organizations. 
16. The manuals contain theoretical and practical elements to help delegates operate more 
effectively before, during and after meetings, to fa miliarize them with the inner workings of these 
organizations and their meetings so that they are ab le to make the most of them.  To supplement the 
participation manuals, training work shops will be held in 2009.  For more information contact:  
ricardo.molins@iica.int  (Ricardo Molins) and erick.bolanos@iica.int  (Eric Bolaños). 
IV. SUPPORT FOR THE DISSEMINA TION OF INFORMATION 
17. IICA has several newsletters and communicati on systems that promote the exchange of 
information on SPS and the work of the WTO, the international reference organizations and the 
regional bodies. 
18. The CODEX-SPS  Foro de Opinión  (Opinion Forum) is a quarterly electronic newsletter that 
specializes in the topics and events of the Code x Alimentarius and the WTO-SPS Committee.  The 
newsletter publishes and reviews the latest inform ation on standards and its purpose is to promote 
communication and improve knowledge of these issues.  It is available to all members at www.iica.org.ar
.  For more information contact:  mlfonalleras@iica.int  (Lourdes Fonalleras). 
19. The AGRIHEALTH  information system distributes information on agricultural health and 
food safety, and the areas it covers include the sta ndards and actions of the WTO and the international 
reference organizations.  Visit www.infoagro.net/salud  for the Spanish version and 
www.agrihealth.ws  for the English version.  For more info rmation contact:  ericka.calderon@iica.int 
(Ericka Calderon). 
Inter-American Institute for C ooperation on Agriculture (IICA) 
Agricultural health and Food Safety 
http://www.infoagro.net/salud  
http://www.iica.int  
 
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