WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/W/243/Rev.4 
7 March 2011 
 (11-1139) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
PROPOSED RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE TO ENCOURAGE AND FACILITATE 
AD HOC CONSULTATIONS OR NEGOTIATIONS AMONG MEMBERS 
UNDER THE SPS AGREEMENT (ARTICLE 12.2) 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
Revision  
  
INTRODUCTION 
 1. Article 12.2 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (the 
SPS Agreement) states that:  "The Committee shall en courage and facilitate ad  hoc consultations or 
negotiations among Members on specific sanitary or Phytosanitary issues."  The Working Procedures 
of the Committee, adopted by the Co mmittee in March 1995, provide that: 
"With respect to any matter which has been raised under the Agreement, the 
Chairperson may, at the request of the Members directly concerned, assist them in 
dealing with the matter in question.  Th e Chairperson shall normally report to the 
Committee on the general outcome with respect to the matter in question."
2 
2. In accordance with Article 12.7 of the Agre ement, the Committee has carried out three 
reviews of the operation and implementation of th e Agreement to date.  In all Reviews, the 
Committee recognized the usefulness of the application of Article 12.2 to assist Members to reach 
mutually satisfactory solutions regarding sanitary and phytosanitary issues.  In the First Review of the 
Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreemen t, the Committee observed that "the use of 
Article 12.2 could be an effective mean s of satisfactorily resolving problems".3  (G/SPS/12, para. 24). 
3. In the Second Review, the Committee recalled th at ad hoc consultations among Members, as 
provided for in Article 12.2 of the Agreement, on specific sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 
otherwise referred to as the "good offices" of the Chair, had been used on several occasions since 
1995.  The Committee recalled that this was a useful  route to facilitate agreement between Members 
and encouraged Members to take advantage of th is option where appropriate.  The Committee also 
adopted a recommendation encouraging Members "t o make use of the possibility for ad hoc 
consultations, including through the good offices of the Chairperson of the SPS Committee, to 
facilitate the resolution of specific trade concerns".4 
4. The Report of the Third Review describes the subsequent work by the Committee on this 
matter, including the submission by some Members of specific proposals for a procedure to enhance 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the position of Members or to their rights and obligations under the WTO. 
2 G/SPS/1, paragraph 5. 
3 G/SPS/12, paragraph 24. 
4 G/SPS/36, paragraphs 87-88. G/SPS/W/243/Rev.4 
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  the use of the good offices of the SPS Chairman.  In adopting this report in March 2010, the 
Committee recommended that:  
"Members should endeavour to expeditious ly conclude this outstanding issue from 
the Second Review in a manner which fac ilitates the use of ad hoc consultations, 
including through the good offices of the Ch airperson of the SPS Committee, for the 
resolution of specific trade concerns."
 5 
5. To date, the good offices of the Chairperson, as provided for in paragraph 6 of the Working 
Procedures of the SPS Committee, h as been used on three occasions .  The first occasion was on the 
basis of a request from Argentina,  Brazil, Chile, South Africa and Uruguay with respect to measures 
relating to citrus canker taken by the European  Communities, in March 1998.  The second occasion 
was on the basis of a request by the United States wi th respect to restrictions on wheat and oilseeds 
maintained by Poland, in November 1998.  The most  recent occasion was on the basis of a request by 
Canada with respect to import restrictions on bovine  semen maintained by India, in March 2001.  On 
each occasion, the Chairman informed th e Committee with regard to the request. 6  
6. With a view to provide further guidance to Members on the procedure for ad hoc 
consultations according to Article 12.2, Argentina a nd the United States each circulated a proposal for 
the Committee's consideration.7  Subsequently, both Member s introduced a joint proposal.8  
Following the discussion of this matter at the SPS Committee meeting of 23-24 June 2009, the Secretariat was requested to prepare a revised propo sal based on the Argentine-US joint proposal and 
addressing the concerns raised by other Members in the discussions.
9  The "Recommended Procedure 
for Ad Hoc Consultations and Negotiati ons Among Members under the SPS Agreement 
(Article 12.2)" was circulated in September 2009 as G/SPS/W/243. 
7. This proposal has been discussed at the Co mmittee meetings of Oct ober 2009, March, June 
and October 2010, and revised after each meeting to take into account comments and suggestions 
received from Members.10  A "non-paper" submitted jointly by India, Norway, the Philippines and 
Switzerland was circulated as an attachment to a fax from the Chairman of the SPS Committee on 
13 September 2010.  At the October 2010 meeting, some Members indicated that they wished to 
continue discussions based on the issues outlined in  the non-paper, while others preferred text-based 
discussions based on the proposal (G/SPS/W/243/Re v.3).  The Chairman proposed a two-track 
approach:  on one hand he requested the Secretariat, with the assistance of relevant Members, to prepare a description of past experiences with ad  hoc consultations; on th e other hand he invited 
Members to submit any comments on the proposal  by 17 December 2010, and to resubmit any 
comments made on previous versions of the proposal that they wished to see reflected in the next 
revision.  Comments on the draft text were rece ived from Canada and the United States, and the 
proposed additions and deletions are marked in this current revision. 
                                                     
 
5 See Section XII of the Report of the Third Review, G/SPS/53, paragraphs 116-126. 
6 See G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.11/Add.3, paras. 163- 166;  G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev. 11/Add.2, paras. 674-
675);  and G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.11/Add.2,  paras. 459-467, respectively, an d paragraphs 16-20 of document 
G/SPS/GEN/781. 
7 Argentina's proposal was circulated in March 2008, as document G/SPS/W/219.  The United States' 
proposal was circulated in June 2008, as document G/SPS/W/227.  
8 G/SPS/W/233. 
9 See G/SPS/R/55, paragraphs 108-118. 
10 See G/SPS/R/56, paras. 112-121, G/SPS/R/58, paras. 87-99, G/SPS/R/59, paras. 90-113, and 
G/SPS/R/61, paras. 94-112. G/SPS/W/243/Rev.4 
Page 3 
 
 
  RECOMMENDED PROCEDURE TO ENCOURAGE AND FACILITATE FOR  
AD HOC CONSULTATIONS OR AND NEGOTIATIONS AMONG MEMBERS  
UNDER THE SPS AGREEMENT (ARTICLE 12.2) 
 
Proposed Decision by the Committee  
 
 
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 acco rdance 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 f acilitate ad hoc consulta tions 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. 
2. This procedure does not add to nor detract from the existing rights and obligations of 
Members under the Agreement nor any other WTO Agre ement.  This procedure will not result in any 
legal interpretation n
or constitute a  or modification to the Agreement itself and is without prejudice to 
the right of a Member to determine its appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection against 
risks to human, animal or plant life or health.1  
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 consulta tions regarding any sanitary and phytosanitary 
measure(s) or related technical issue(s) falli ng under the scope of the Agreement.  The SPS 
Committee acknowledges the right of  Members are encouraged  to raise the issue(s)  at a meeting of 
the SPS Committee as a specific trade c oncern prior to requesting an ad hoc  consultations .2   
                                                      
1 Change proposed by the United States.  
2 Changes proposed by Canada.  The United States proposes deletion of the last sentence. G/SPS/W/243/Rev.4 
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  5. Member participation in consultations is voluntary.  
6. The decision of whether to participate in cons ultations, and all positi ons 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 all other pa rticipants in the consultation will treat as 
confidential the information submitted and positions  taken during consultations, unless disclosure is 
consented to by the consulting Members.  
8. The Members agree that consultati ons will be held in good faith. 
II. PROCEDURE FOR ADDRESSING CONC ERNS REGARDING SPS ISSUES 
Step A:  Request for Consultations 
9.
 A Member (the "requesting Member") must requ est consultations with another Member (the 
"responding Member") in writing in a WTO working language .3  The request will:  (1) refer to the 
measure(s) or technical issue(s) to be consulted on; and (2) state the reasons for 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 pertinent 
international organizations as referred to in the Ag reement.  In addition to sending the request to the 
responding Member, the requesting Member will send the request to the Secretariat and the 
Chairperson of the Committee on the same day as the request is made.  The Committee will be 
informed of the request at the subsequent meeting of the Committee.4 
Step B:  Response to a Request 
10. The responding Member will notify the reques ting Member in writing in a WTO working 
language 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 
Committee on the same day as the response is made.  The Committee will be informed of the response 
to the request (ie., whether the request was ac cepted or rejected) at the subsequent meeting of the 
Committee.  This information may be provided unde r the agenda item on Specific Trade Concerns, or 
as information from Members, and the requesting and responding Members may provide whatever 
information they deem appropriate to the Committee.5 
Step C:  Consultation Procedure 
11. Within 45  days of acceptance of the consultations request by  the responding Member , the 
consulting Members should set a date for a meeting.   Where the responding Member has accepted the 
consultations request, the consulting Members shall set a date within 45 days of accepting the request 
for the consultations for a meeting.6 
12. The role of the Chairperson of the Comm ittee (or designee thereof) is to facilitate 
communication between the consulting Members.   In  that regard, the Chairperson of the Committee 
                                                      
3 Deletion proposed by the United States. 
4 Deletion proposed by Canada and the United States. 
5 Deletion proposed by Canada and the United States. 
6 Change proposed by the United States.  G/SPS/W/243/Rev.4 
 Page 5 
 
 
  (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. 
13. At no time may the Chairperson of the Committee (or designee thereof) opine on a technical 
issue or on the consistency with any WTO Agreement, including the SPS  Agreement, of a measure(s) 
or a consulting Member’s position on a technical issue(s). 
14. Where a consulting Member identifies a standa rd, guideline, or recommendation of the Codex 
Alimentarius Commission, the World Organisation fo r Animal Health (OIE), or the International 
Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), the consulting Me mbers 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 comp lete the consultations within a reasonable 
period of time. 
16. When either  one or both of the consulting Members wi sh(es) to conclude the consultations, 
the Member(s) may do so through written notification to the other consulting Member at any time.  
The Member or  Member( s) (if acting jointly)  will promptly provide written notification to the 
Secretariat and the Chairperson of the Committee (o r designee thereof) that the consultations have 
concluded.7 
17. At the conclusion of the consultations, if  with  approval is obtained  from both Members, the 
Chairperson of the Committee will report the genera l outcome of the consultations to the Committee 
in accordance with the established wo rking procedures of the Committee.8  The report will not contain 
confidential information unless both consulting Members consent to the inclusion of such information 
as described in paragraph 7.9 
III. MONITORING 
18. The Secretariat will monitor the use of this pr ocedure, and, in accord ance with paragraph 7, 
will ensure that the Secretariat’s conclusions of such monitoring are reflected 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 periodically  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. 
__________  
                                                      
7 Changes proposed by the United States. 
8 G/SPS/1, paragraph 6. 
9 Change proposed by the United States.