. /.  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/N/CUB/9 
27 January 2005 
 
 (05-0337) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
NOTIFICATION 
 
1. Member to Agreement notifying:  REPUBLIC OF CUBA
 
If applicable, name of local government involved:   
2. Agency responsible:  Ministry of Agriculture  
3. Products covered (provide tariff item number(s) as specified in national schedules 
deposited with the WTO; ICS numbers should be provided in addition, where 
applicable):  Fresh, chilled or frozen bovine meat, cooked and smoked meat products and 
preserved and semi-preserved products containing bovine meat.  
4. Regions or countries likely to be affected , to the extent relevant or practicable:  
Countries with which Cuba maintains trade re lations, subject to the sanitary certification 
provided for in the regulations of the Institute  of Veterinary Medicine and compliance with 
veterinary health requirements for imports.  
5. Title, language and number of pages of the notified document :  Amendment to  
Resolution No. 9/2002 on imports, issued on 11 June 2002 (available in Spanish, 4 pages).  
6. Description of content:  Authorization of the import of fresh, chilled and frozen bovine 
meat  from countries or zones  provisionally free  from and at minimal or moderate risk of  
Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) following completion of the sanitary 
certification process by an expert from the Offici al Veterinary Service of the Institute of 
Veterinary Medicine, who will check and supe rvise the goods at source to ensure that 
establishments engaged in the slaughter and pr eparation of animals have implemented the 
appropriate diagnostic systems allowing for the checking of all slaughtered animals over the 
age of 24 months;  introduction of a continuous  surveillance and monitoring programme and 
implementation of a traceability system to iden tify batches of raw materials and the carcass 
at each stage of the process, thereby guarant eeing that specific risk material does not enter 
the human and animal food chain.  Authorization of imports of cooked and smoked sausages and preserved and semi-preserved me at products containing bovine meat from 
countries or zones provisionally free and at mini mal or moderate risk of BSE, following 
completion of the sanitary certification process established by the Institute of Veterinary 
Medicine in those producer establishments and verification of a ll the above-mentioned 
elements. 
7. Objective and rationale: [  X ] food safety,  [  X ] animal health,  [    ] plant protection, 
[ X ] protect humans from animal/plant pest or disease, [   ] protect territory from 
other damage from pests        G/SPS/N/CUB/9 
Page 2  
 
 8. International standard, guideline or recommendation: 
[ X ] Codex Alimentarius Commission,  [ X ] World Organization for Animal Health 
(OIE), [   ] International Plant Protection Convention,  [   ] None If an international standard, guideline or recommendation exists, give the appropriate 
reference and briefly identify deviations:        
9. Relevant documents and language(s) in which these are available:  Resolution 
No. 1/2004, issued on 12 January 2004 (available in Spanish, 4 pages).  
10. Proposed date of adoption:  Not applicable  
11. Proposed date of entry into force:  Not applicable  
12. Final date for comments:  Not applicable  
Agency or authority designated to handle comments:  [    ] National notification 
authority, [    ] National enquiry point, or add ress, fax number and E-mail address (if 
available) of other body:        
13. Texts available from:  [  X ] National notification authority, [    ] National enquiry 
point, or address, fax number and E-mail address (if available) of other body:   
Ministerio de Comercio Exterior, Dirección de Organismos Internacionales, Calle Infanta 
N° 16 esquina 23, Ciudad de la Habana, Muni cipio Plaza de la Revolución, República de 
Cuba.  Fax:  (537) 542266.  E-mail:  rebeca.gonzalez@mincex.cu 
Instituto de Medicina Veterinaria 
Dirección Nacional, Calle 12 N° 355 entre 15 y 17, Ciudad Habana, Municipio Plaza de la 
Revolución, República de Cuba.  Fax:  ( 537) 303537.  E-mail:  dnimv@infomed.sld.cu