. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/988 
23 December 2009 
 (09-6691) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
  
 
ARTICLE 12.2 - CONSULTATIONS 
 
Comments from Mexico on the Proposal by Brazil (G/SPS/W/248
) 
  
 The following communication, received on 22 December 2009, is being circulated at the 
request of the delegation of Mexico
. 
 
_______________ 
  
Background 
 
1. The ad hoc  consultation mechanism, foreseen in Artic le 12.2 of the SPS Agreement and in the 
Working Procedures of the Committee, offers Member s an additional route for dialogue, exchange of 
information and negotiations on sanitary, phytosanitary and food safety issues.  In light of the 
proposals made by Argentina and the United States (G/SPS/W/233), Brazil would like to contribute to 
the efforts to implement an ad hoc good offices' consultation mechanism. 
2.
 In order to guarantee that this mechanism is implemented, broadly used and considered as 
effective in the SPS Committee, Brazil deems it nec essary that Members' participation be mandatory, 
at least regarding a first meeting between the c onsulting Members.  In this first meeting, the 
requesting Member may orally present its demand to  the responding Member and to the Chairperson 
of the SPS Committee.  The decision to pr oceed to the next steps of the following guidelines will be 
announced by the responding Member in this meetin g.  All positions taken by Members during such 
consultations will be without prejudice to the rights or obligations of a Member under the WTO 
Agree ments.  
Guidelines 
 
3. Any Member may, at any time , request consultations regardi ng any SPS measure(s) or related 
technical issue(s), provided 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 . 
4. The consulting Members will treat as confiden tial the information submitted and positions 
taken during consultations, unless disclosure is agreed by the consulting M embers . 
5. The consulting Members agree that cons ultations will be held in good faith. 
6. A Member (the "requesting Member") must requ est 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.  In addition to sending the
 request to the responding Member, on the same day as the request is G/SPS/GEN/988 
Page 2  
 
  made the requesting Member will se nd the request to the SPS Committee
1, which shall circulate it to 
all Members.  
7. The Chairperson of the SPS Committee (or desi gnee thereof) shall convene a first meeting 
with the consulting Members (hereinafter referred to as "the parties") within 45 days of receiving the request.  If one or both of the consulting Members considers that a meeting within 45 days is not 
practicable, it shall inform the Committee of its reas ons together with an estimate of the period within 
which it will participate in the first meeting,  as long as the period does not surpass the following 
Regular Meeting of the SPS Committee. 
8. In the first meeting between the consulting Me mbers, the requesting Member will present its 
demand orally to the responding Member, which w ill present its comments and announce if it accepts 
to follow the next steps of the consultation mechan ism.  If the answer is positive, the Chairperson (or 
designee ther eof) will, inter alia , address any outstanding issues, explore possible next steps and set a 
schedule for further activities to solve the SPS concer ns involved.  If the answer is negative, within 
30 days the responding Member will prepare a letter to  be forwarded to the requesting Member and to 
the Secretariat of  the SPS Committee for its information only  which shall circulate it to all Members . 
9. The role of the Chairperson (or designee ther eof) is to facilitate communication between the 
consulting Members.  In that regard , the Chairperson (or designee thereof)  will consult with both 
Members regarding the parameters of the consulta tions, including, but not limited to, whether it is 
recommended that technical experts of each consulting Member should be present at the 
consultations, whether production of written respon ses and supplementary questions are desirable;  
and whether a mutually acceptable schedule for su ch submissions and for further meetings, if 
necessary, can be determined.  At no time may the Committee Chairpers on (or designee thereof) 
present an opinion on a technical issue or on the c onsistency with any WTO agreement, including the 
SPS Agreement, of a measure or a consulting Member's position on a technical issue. 
10. Where a consulting Member identifies a standa rd, guideline, or recommendation of the Codex 
Alimentarius, the OIE, or the IPPC, the consulting Members may jointly request the participation of 
the secretariat of the organization for which the standard, guideline, or  recommendation has been 
invoked to explain the scope or the content of that standard, guideline, or recommendation. 
11. The consulting Members will endeavour to comp lete the consultations within a reasonable 
period of time, which shall not surpass 180 days. 
12. When either one or both of the consulting Me mbers wish 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 (or designee thereof)  that the consultations have been concluded. 
13. At the conclusion of the consultations, with  approval from both Members, the Committee 
Chairperson will report the general outcome of the c onsultations to the Committee in accordance with 
the established working procedures of the Committee.2  The report will not contain confidential 
information unless both consulting Members consent to the inclusion of such information . 
__________ 
                                                      
1 If the Committee to which these communications were notified considers itself not to be the relevant 
Committee, it shall forward the notifications to the Co mmittee overseeing the opera tion of the WTO agreement 
most closely related to the measure at issu e, or if it is unclear which WTO agreement  is most closely related, to 
the Council for Trade in Goods. 
2 G/SPS/1, para. 6.