WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/808 
17 October 2007 
 
 (07-4444) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   English/ 
 Spanish 
 
 
 
ACTIONS AIMED AT IMPLEMENTING THE WTO AGREEMENT ON THE 
APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES 
 
Information Submitted by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on  
Agriculture (IICA ) 
   The following communication, received on 11 Octo ber 2007, is being circulated at the request 
of IICA. 
 
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 1. The observer organizations of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPSC) 
of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are invited to submit reports on the activities they have 
carried out to promote the understanding and implem entation of the SPS Agreement.  IICA wishes to 
present some actions and activities we consider  to be of interest to the Committee. 
INITIATIVE IN SPS FOR THE COUNTRIES OF THE AMERICAS 
2. The Initiative for the Americas continues to  support IICA's member countries through 
institution building activities and support for their pa rticipation in meetings of the SPSC.  Since the 
Initiative was launched in October 2002, the countr ies have been able to attend 16 consecutive 
meetings.   
3. For its fortieth meeting, the Initiative facilitate d the participation of 26 countries and an equal 
number of specialists.  All told, the Initiative h as supported the participation of 220 "Capital-based" 
experts from ministries of agriculture, trade and health.  Of IICA's 34 member countries, 28
1 are 
beneficiaries of the Initiative, and six make up the Steering Group2, which supports the 
implementation of the Initiative.  For furt her information:  ricardo.molins@iica.int  (Ricardo Molins), 
erick.bolanos@iica.int  (Eric Bolaños), maureen.obando@iica.int  (Maureen Obando). 
IICA-STDF PROJECT 
4. As a follow-up to the development of institu tional capabilities in the countries of the 
Americas, IICA will soon begin implementation of  a project funded by the Standards and Trade 
Development Facility (STDF).  IICA's 34 member countries will participate:  28 as direct 
beneficiaries and six (the Steering Group) as providers of technical cooperation.  
                                                      
1 Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Pana ma, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, 
Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, 
St. Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, Suriname, Paraguay , Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Bo livia, Venezu ela and Peru.  
2 Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Mexico and United States of America.  G/SPS/GEN/808 
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  5. The objectives of the project are: 
(i) To promote a common and shared vision
 in the countries (public and private 
sectors) to follow up on and consolidat e their institutional capacity-building 
in the SPS field; 
(ii) to continue supporting real and potential capacity-building  in the countries of 
the Americas, for the sake of more active and effective participation in the 
SPS Committee;  and 
(iii) to consolidate technical cooperation  among the countries of the Americas as a 
mechanism for exchange in the area of technical assistance and for support in 
the area of special and differential treatment.  For further information:  
ricardo.molins@iica.int  (Ricardo Molins), erick.bolanos@iica.int  
(Eric Bolaños), maureen.obando@iica.int  (Maureen Obando). 
TRAINING COURSES IN SPS MEASURES 
6. The IICA Office in Argentina, in conjunction w ith the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, 
Fisheries and Food (SAGPyA) and the National Ag rifood Health and Quality Service (SENASA), 
held a number of training workshops for the purpose of disseminating information on the SPS 
Agreement and international norms, and of familiarizing representatives of the private sector with the 
structure and operation of the Codex and the im pact of international norms on food trade.  
7. In the workshops, participants learned about or  updated their knowledge of the provisions of 
the SPS Agreement, based on the work of the SPSC and the Three Sisters – Codex, OIE and IPPC.  
The training itself focused on specific production chains.  For further information:  
Mlfonalleras@iica.org.ar  (Lourdes Fonalleras). 
8. In late October, in Honduras, the National SPS Committee will present its working agenda for 
2008.  The event is being held to create awareness, at th e highest levels of government, of current 
topics related to SPS measures, with a view to fac ilitating implementation of the national SPS agenda.  
IICA is very pleased to support Honduras in this process.  For further information:  
alejandra.diaz@iica.int  (Alejandra Díaz). 
9. IICA will support in Ecuador, in late Oct ober, the National Congress on the Codex 
Alimentarius.  Its main objective is to learn how the Codex Alimentarius is structured and how it 
operates, its current importance and how it is rela ted to the SPS Agreement.  During the congress, the 
current status of the national committee will be di scussed and efficient public-private articulation will 
be promoted.  Successful experiences in other countries will be presented and the economic impact of 
compliance or non-compliance with international norms w ill be explained.  This event is the first of a 
series in the Andean Region aimed at enhancing the capabilities of the National Codex Alimentarius 
Committees.  For further information:  paola.ramon@iica.int  (Paola Ramon). 
TRAINING PROGRAMME ON UNDERSTANDING THE THREE SISTERS 
10. As part of the training programme develope d by IICA, a programme will begin soon which 
focuses on understanding and particip ating actively in the regulatory process of the Three Sisters 
(Codex, OIE and IPPC).  This programme was created  to meet two needs of the official agricultural 
health and food safety services:  to continually train and update the skills of their specialists, and to 
study proposals received by the focal points for new norms or the review of existing ones, inviting the private sector to participate in the discussion of same and the definiti on of national positions.   G/SPS/GEN/808 
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  11. This training programme will include speakers from each of the Three Sisters and will be 
executed regionally (Southern, Andean, Centra l and Caribbean) via distance education.  
12. The programme is the first of three components of  an effort to strengthen the participation of 
the countries in the regulatory process of the Three Si sters.  Later, and depending on the availability 
of resources, support will be provided for the partic ipation of the scientific communities of member 
countries in the specialized, permanent and ad  hoc committees and technical fora of these 
organizations, and for the active participation of the countries in the annual meetings of the three 
organizations.  For further information:  ricardo.molins@iica.int  (Ricardo Molins). 
SUPPORT IN THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION 
13. IICA has several bulletins and communication systems that promote the exchange of 
information related to SPS measures and the work  of the WTO, the Three Sisters and regional 
organizations. 
14. The electronic bulletin CODEX-MSF Opinion Foru m specializes in developments within the 
Codex Alimentarius and the SPS Committee.  It disseminates and analyses information on norms and 
recent developments, with a view to increasing discuss ion and analyses of these topics.  Its readership 
is found mostly in the countries of South Ameri ca, but it is available to all members at 
www.iica.org.ar .  For further information:  mlfonalleras@iica.org.ar  (Lourdes Fonalleras). 
15. The AGRIHEALTH information system dissemin ates information related to agricultural 
health and food safety, focusing on norms issued and actions taken by the WTO and the Three Sisters. 
It is currently launching an observatory of emerging issues and emergencies in the areas of animal and plant health and food safety.  www.infoagro.net/salud 
for the Spanish version, and www.agrihealth.ws  
for the version in English.  For furthe r information:  ericka.calderon@iica.int  (Ericka Calderón). 
SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES 
16. The IICA Office in Argentina continues to provide technical support to the Secretariat of 
Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (SAGPyA ), specifically the Natio nal Codex Committee.  
For further information:  mlfonalleras@iica.org.ar  (Lourdes Fonalleras). 
17. IICA has prepared the profile of a project for implementation of traceability systems in 
priority chains in the Andean region.  The project  proposal was developed with representatives of the 
public and private sectors in each of the countries of the region.  The IICA proposal was validated in a USDA-APHIS event held in Peru in September.  At the meeting, it was ratified and IICA was asked 
to move forward with the project and the technical  cooperation actions arising from it.  For further 
information:  jaime.flores@iica.int
 (Jaime Flores). 
 
 
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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