WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/GEN/679 
31 March 2006 
 
 (06-1496) 
Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures Original:   Spanish 
 
 
 
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SPS AGREEMENT 
 
Information for the Workshop on 31 March 2006  
 
Communication from Costa Rica  
   The following communication, received on 30 Marc h 2006, is being circulated at the request 
of the delegation of Costa Rica. 
 
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 1. In preparation for the Workshop on the Impl ementation of the SPS Agreement, participants 
were asked to provide replies to the following questions. 
1. How regularly do representatives of your country participate in meetings of the SPS 
Committee?  Who usually participates from your  country (capital-based experts?  Geneva-
based trade representatives?)?  What informatio n do you receive regarding meetings of the SPS 
Committee, and how do you receive this information? 
Participation in SPS Committee meetings 
2. Since 2004, at least one capital-based representative (from the Ministry of Foreign Trade of 
Costa Rica– COMEX) has participated in SPS Committee meetings.  Since 2005, two capital-based delegates, one for foreign trade and one for agricu lture, have participated in the meetings. Their 
participation has been possible thanks to the Initia tive for the Americas of the Inter-American Institute 
for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).  It should be noted that the support provided by this Initiative 
will end in 2006.  In Costa Rica's opinion, alterna tive financing methods must be sought so as not to 
waste the efforts and achievements that particip ation in the Committee has brought the Initiative's 
beneficiary countries.  In this respect, it would be ideal if each country could ensure the presence of at 
least one person responsible for trade and one pe rson responsible for agriculture at all Committee 
meetings. 
3. In addition to the particip ation of capital-based experts, the Mission has assigned one person 
to deal with SPS issues.  This person attends SPS meetings and provides support to capital-based 
delegates, but is also responsib le for numerous other issues, whic h severely limits the follow-up given 
to SPS matters.  Coordination between capital a nd the Mission is nevertheless very close. 
Information management 
4. After every formal meeting of the SPS Comm ittee, the capital-based participants prepare a 
written report containing the main points of interest fo r Costa Rica.  This information is shared with 
the National SPS Committee and a follow-up agenda is drawn up.  Whenever special sessions of the G/SPS/GEN/679 
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  SPS Committee are held in Geneva, the Mission represen tative forwards any relevant information to 
capital. 
5. The IICA information bulletin is a valuable sour ce of information.  Before each meeting, the 
IICA also distributes electronic versions of the docum ents to be examined to the various institutions 
involved in such issues.  This support is important to Costa Rica. 
6. As regards transparency, Costa Rica obtains information on notified in ternational standards 
from the SPS Secretariat of the WTO and from the IICA website. 
2. Does your country have an SPS national committee?  How do your exporters find out 
about your trading partners' new SPS requireme nts?  What national mechanisms can be 
created to ensure that stakeholders in your coun try are informed in a timely manner of new 
SPS requirements, so that the SPS requirements of  trading partners can be evaluated and so 
that the views of relevant stakeholders can be  taken into account when responding to SPS 
notifications?  In establishing such mechan isms, how can Members identify the relevant 
domestic stakeholders and promote effective inte raction among those stakeholders that can be 
sustained over time?  How can information abou t SPS requirements be transmitted to groups 
outside of the capital?   
7. In 1997, Costa Rica introduced a decree est ablishing the National Committee on Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures.  However, the country's lack of experience at the time meant that the 
structure and functions assigned to the Committee were  not entirely appropriate, and this prevented it 
from operating in practice. 
8. To date, the National SPS Committee has met ev ery three months on an informal basis.  
However, new rules of procedure are currently be ing drawn up and other sectors such as health and 
the private sector are being incorporated. 
9. Costa Rica is also working on the creation of a database in which users are classified 
according to sector.  On the basis of their field of work, the users will be pr ovided with information 
regarding international regulations notified to the WT O and national standards.  Costa Rica is already 
in the preliminary phase of setting up this data base and would very much welcome technical 
assistance in this area. 
10. Costa Rica has made significant efforts to ge nerate information rega rding the SPS Agreement 
and to circulate such information within the pr ivate sector through the SPS enquiry point and the 
website www.protecnet.go.cr
.  The country has also made efforts to inform the private sector of 
international standards affecting trade inter alia by notifying private associ ations and publishing 
announcements in newspapers. 
11. So that the private sector becomes better info rmed and better versed in the various aspects of 
compliance with the SPS Agreement, Costa Rica is considering incorporating this sector into the 
National SPS Committee.  A lot of work and as much  support as possible is needed in this area. 
3. Has there been any national planning on  how to implement the SPS Agreement in your 
country?  If so, was this planning de veloped using a particular methodology? 
12. No, in Costa Rica there has been no formal national planning on how to implement the SPS 
Agreement.  In practice, significant efforts have been made to improve the implementation of the 
Agreement through meetings with the various sector s involved and by facilitating solutions to trade 
concerns.  Nevertheless, it would be highly benefici al to build institutional capacity in this area.  G/SPS/GEN/679 
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  4. How does your country identify its techni cal assistance needs?  What has been your 
country’s experience in both the request and the supply of SPS-related technical assistance? 
How can technical assistance supply and demand be  most effectively matched, priority areas 
identified and duplication of donor efforts avoided?  
13. Needs are identified through consultation with  the public and private bodies concerned, which 
include industries, producers and exporters, and are notified to the National SPS Committee and the 
Inter-Institutional Food safety Commission (CIIA). 
14. In general, Costa Rica has benefited significantly  from the technical assistance it has received.  
Despite being a small country, we also provide t echnical assistance to other countries in the region 
through a technician exchange scheme, whereby t echnicians from other countries receive training in 
our institutions.  For example, Costa Rica has an agreement with the Spanish Government on plant 
and animal health, and food safety.  Furthermore, th e Directorates of Animal Health and Plant Health 
have assigned certain members of staff to the area of international cooperation.  Competence for food 
safety is to some extent shared, which makes the preparation and follow-up of projects more difficult. 
15. As regards SPS-related te chnical assistance, we suggest: 
• A single database for the registration of projects and donor institutions and countries, 
which allows for cross-checking. 
 
• Working with countries to evaluate their st rengths and weaknesses so that they can 
recognize their specific technical assistance needs and prioritize them in terms of 
urgency and importance with a view to fulf illing the objectives of the Agreement.  In 
other words, we must strengthen our capaciti es in order to facilitate trade (both the 
export of goods to other markets and access for imported products) as more 
widespread implementation of the SPS Agre ement depends on this.  For instance, a 
review of how national sanitary and phyto sanitary requirements are established could 
highlight a need to strengthen capacity in the area of risk analysis. 
 
• Ensuring that developing countries are not ove rlooked and, above all, strengthening 
those areas in which progress has already b een made but in which support is needed 
to prevent backtracking.  For instance, it is important not only to continue supporting 
the developing and least developed countries so that they can participate in the relevant international bodies, but to seek alternative ways to increase their 
participation in the regular meetings of the SPS Committee. 
 
• The relevant international bodies should s upport and listen to the suggestions made 
by developing and least developed countri es, with a view to developing technical 
standards, that are really necessary to fac ilitate trade in our markets and that take 
account of the specific production conditions  and the technology available in our 
countries. 
 
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