WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/989 
23 December 2009 
 (09-6695) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE FOR AD HOC CONSULTATIONS OR 
NEGOTIATIONS AMONG MEMBERS UNDER  
THE SPS AGREEMENT (ARTICLE 12.2) 
 
Comments by Mexico on Document G/SPS/W/243
 
 
  The following communication, received on 22 December 2009, is being circulated at the request of the delegation of Mexico
. 
 
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INTRODUCTION 
 
1. Mexico thanks the United States of America a nd Argentina for their joint proposal (document 
G/SPS/W/223) and the Secretariat of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures for 
document G/SPS/W/243, circulated on 7 September 2009.  These texts seek to establish a clear 
procedure for Members in relation to the use of ad  hoc consultations, as provided for in Article 12.2 
of the SPS Agreement.  
2. Mexico's proposal aims to be constructive a nd, above all, to prevent any attenuation of the 
benefits derived under the SPS Committee agenda item "Specific trade concerns".  The opportunity 
afforded by this agenda item is essential to all Members and, according to the SPS Secretariat itself, 
has enabled solutions to be found to a great many of these concerns.  The procedure proposed in this 
document must not be construed as detracting from the use of this agenda item or the bilateral 
meetings held as a result of Members' statements. 
 
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 G/SPS/GEN/989 
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  RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE FOR AD HOC CONSULTATIONS AND 
NEGOTIATIONS AMONG MEMBERS UNDER  
THE SPS AGREEMENT (ARTICLE 12.2) 
 
Proposal by Mexico
 
 
 
The Committee on Sanitary and Phytos anitary Measures ("the Committee"), 
 Having regard  to paragraph 1 of Article 12 of the Agre ement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures ("the Agreement"); 
 Seeking  to further encourage and facilitate ad hoc consultations or negotia tions among Members on 
specific sanitary and phytosanitary issues, in accord ance with the provisions of Article 12.2 of the 
Agreement; 
 
Recalling  that the Working Procedures of the Committee calls on the Chairperson of the Committee to 
assist Members to deal with any matter which has been raised under the Agreement, upon a request by 
the Members directly concerned; 
Recalling  that during the reviews of the operation an d implementation of the Agreement, Members 
recognized the usefulness of application of Arti cle 12.2, and encouraged the use of ad hoc 
consultations, including through the good offices of th e Chairperson of the Committee, to facilitate 
the resolution of specific trade concerns;  Taking into account  the ongoing negotiations of the Doha Development Agenda; 
 
Decides as follows: 
 1. This procedure is intended to  encourage and facilitate ad hoc  consultations or negotiations 
among Members on specific sanitary or phytosanitary i ssues, with a view to assist Members to reach 
mutually satisfactory solutions, according to Article  12.2 of the Agreement.  This procedure shall 
ensure that there are no "conflicts of interest" be tween the Members holding the ad hoc consultations 
or negotiations and the facilitator . 
 2. This procedure does not add to nor detract  from the existing rights and obligations of 
Members under the Agreement or any other WTO Agre ement.  This procedure does not provide any 
legal interpretation or modification to the Agreement itself and is without prejudice to the right of a 
Member to determine its appropriate level of sanita ry or phytosanitary protection against risks to 
human, animal or plant life or health.  3. This procedure is not intended to prejudice in  any way the process or outcome of the work of 
other Committees, including the work those Commit tees are doing related to the Doha Development 
Agenda. 
 
I. GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 
4. Any Member may at any time request consu ltations regarding any sanitary and phytosanitary 
measure(s) or related technical issue(s) falling unde r the scope of the Agreement, provided that the 
requesting Member has raised the measures or technical issues in respect of which consultations are 
being requested at least once under the agenda of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary 
Measures . 
  G/SPS/GEN/989 
 Page 3 
 
 
  5. Member participation in consultations is voluntary. 
 6. The decision of whether to participate in c onsultations, and all pos itions taken by Members 
during such consultations, will be without prejudice to the rights or obligations of a Member under the 
WTO Agreements. 
 
7. The consulting Members, as well as the Chai rperson of the Committee and the Secretariat 
when involved, will treat as confidential the in formation submitted and positions taken during 
consultations unless disclosure is con sented to by the consulting Members
. 
 
8. The Members agree that consulta tions will be held in good faith. 
 
II. PROCEDURE FOR ADDRESSING CONC ERNS REGARDING SPS ISSUES 
Step A:  Request for Consultations 
 9. Member (the "requesting Member") must re quest consultations with another Member (the 
"responding Member") in writing.  The request will:  (1 ) refer to the measure(s) or technical issue(s) 
to be consulted on;  and (2) state the reasons fo r requesting consultations as well as any preliminary 
questions and concerns regarding the measure(s) or technical issue(s), including possible effects on 
trade, as well as, if any, relevant provision(s) of  the Agreement and existing international standards, 
guidelines or recommendations adopted by the pertinen t international organizations as referred to in 
the Agreement.  In addition to sending the request  to the responding Member, the requesting Member 
will send the request to the Secretariat and the Ch airperson of the Committee on the same day as the 
request is made.  
Step B:  Response to a Request  
 
10. The responding Member will notify the reques ting Member in writing whether it accepts or 
rejects the request within 30 days of receiving the request.  The responding Member will also send the 
response to the Secretariat and the Chairperson of the SPS Committee on the same day as the response 
is made.  In the event of the responding Member notif ying that it accepts consultations, it shall, within 
45 days, express an opinion in relation to points (1) and (2) of paragraph 9 of this procedure . 
 
Step C:  Consultation Procedure  
 
11. Where the responding Member has accepted the consultations request, the consulting 
Members shall set a date within 45 days of accepti ng the request for the consultations for a meeting. 
 
12. The role of the Chairperson of the Co mmittee (or designee thereof) is to facilitate 
communication between the consulting Members.  In  that regard, the Chairperson of the Committee 
(or designee thereof) will consult with both Members regarding the parameters  of the consultations, 
including, but not limited to:  
(a) Whether it is recommended that technical experts of each consulting Member should 
be present at the consultations; 
(b) whether production of written responses and s upplementary questions is desirable;  
and 
(c) whether a mutually acceptable schedule for such submissions and for further 
meetings, if necessary, can be determined. G/SPS/GEN/989 
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  13. At no time may the Chairperson of the Comm ittee (or designee thereof) opine on a technical 
issue or on the consistency with any WTO Agreement,  including the Agreement, of a measure(s) or a 
consulting Member's position on a technical issue(s).  14. Where a consulting Member identifies a sta ndard, guideline, or reco mmendation of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission, the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) or the International Plant 
Protection Convention (IPPC), the consulting Member s may jointly request the participation of the 
secretariat of the organization whose standard, guideline, or recommendation has been invoked to 
explain the scope or content of that standard, guideline, or recommendation.  
15. The consulting Members will endeavour to co mplete the consultations within a reasonable 
period of time.  16. When either
 one or both  of the consulting Members wishes  to conclude the consultations, the 
Member(s)  may do so through written notification to the other consulting Member at any time.  The 
Member or Members (if acting jointly)  will promptly provide written notification to the Secretariat 
and the Chairperson of the Committee (or designee th ereof) that the consultations have concluded. 
 17. At the conclusion of the consultations, with  approval from both Members, the Chairperson of 
the Committee will report the general outcome of the consultations to th e Committee in accordance 
with the established working procedures of the Committee.
1  The report will not contain confidential 
information, unless both consulting Members consen t to the inclusion of such information as 
described in paragraph 7.  
 
III. MONITORING 
18. The Secretariat will monitor the use of this procedure, and, in accord ance with paragraph 7, 
will ensure that the Secretariat's conclusions of such monitoring are refl ected in the summary of 
Specific Trade Concerns that the Secretariat annually provides to the Committee (G/SPS/GEN/204). 
 
IV. REVIEW AND DURATION 
19. This procedure will be reviewed periodica lly and revised as necessary by the Committee in 
light of experience gained through its application.   The Committee should undertake a first review of 
these guidelines not later than two years after thei r adoption by the Committee and thereafter as the 
need arises.  
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1 G/SPS/1, paragraph. 6.