RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/R/47 
8 January 2008 
 (08-0072) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
 
WORKSHOP ON TRANSPARENCY 
HELD ON 15-16 OCTOBER 2007 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
Table of Contents  
 
Page  
 
I. SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................ .......2  
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION.........................................................................................3  
A. QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE OPERATION OF ENQUIRY POINTS AND NATIONAL 
NOTIFICATION AUTHORITIES .........................................................................................3  
B. THE WORKSHOP PROGRAMME .......................................................................................3  
C. SECRETARIAT INPUTS PRIOR TO THE WORKSHOP .........................................................3  
D. MEMBERS ' INPUTS PRIOR TO THE WORKSHOP ..............................................................4  
E. SPS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM ...................................................................5  
III. DISCUSSIONS HELD DURING THE WORKSHOP ..........................................................5  
A. NATIONAL /INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES ......................................................................5  
B. THE COMPILATION OF PROPOSALS (G/SPS/W/215)......................................................6  
C. MENTORING MECHANISM ..............................................................................................7  
D. BEST PRACTICES /PROCEDURAL TIPS.............................................................................7  
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THE WORKSHOP ........................................8  
V. NEXT STEPS ..................................................................................................................... .......9  
 
                                                      
1This document has been prepared under the Secretar iat's own responsibility and is without prejudice to 
the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO.  G/SPS/R/47 
Page 2  
 
  I. SUMMARY 
1. The Secretariat of the WTO organized a special workshop on the transparency provisions of 
the SPS Agreement on 15-16 October, back-to-back with the SPS Committee meetings.  This was the 
third SPS workshop on transparency organized by the WTO Secretariat, the first two having been held 
in 1999 and 2003. 
2. The meeting was open to all Members, observer governments and organizations with observer 
status in the SPS Committee.  Various funding a rrangements made it possible for a large number of 
developing country and LDC participants to not only attend the workshop but also the subsequent 
Committee meetings.  Close to 100 Members were present during the workshop, with more than 163 
total participants. 
3. The objective of the workshop was to enhance th e implementation of transparency obligations 
and identify best practices for drawing benefits from a transparent system.   
4. In addition to brief presentations from the S ecretariat and from the Enquiry Point of Chile, 
participants worked in break-out sessions with th e objective of identifying concrete actions which 
could be taken at the national and international level to enhance the use and usefulness of the 
transparency provisions.  The breakout sessions,  led to the identification of a number of 
recommendations for follow-up action at different levels. 
5. The Committee will consider the recommendati ons resulting from the workshop during its 
next meeting starting on 31 March 2008.  At that time, the Secretariat will provide an update on those 
recommendations which involve specific inputs from th e Secretariat.  Member s are also invited to 
inform the Committee of any relevant actions they have taken which might be  of interest to other 
Members.  
6. The public website version of the SPS Informa tion Management System was launched during 
the workshop and hands-on demonstrations were held to intr oduce the functions and capabilities of 
the system to interested participants. 
7. New Zealand and Australia led a practical workshop on how to manage an Enquiry 
Point/National Notification Authority and will prepare a step-by-step procedural manual on this topic. 
Presentations from the workshop are available through the SPS gateway of the WTO website 
(http://www.wto.org/english/tr atop_e/sps_e/wkshop_oct07_e.htm
).  G/SPS/R/47 
 Page 3 
 
 
  II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 
A. QUESTIONNAIRE ON THE OPERATION OF ENQUI RY POINTS AND NATIONAL NOTIFICATION 
AUTHORITIES  
8. In preparation for the workshop, the Secretariat circulated a questionnaire on the Operation of 
Enquiry Points and National Notification Authorities (G/SPS/W/103/Rev.2) and issued an Analysis of 
the 58 replies to the Questionnaire in June 2007 (G/SPS/GEN/751/Rev.1).  The individual replies, 
including those which were submitted after the comp letion of the Analysis, are available on the WTO 
Members' website (under WTO resources). 
9. Some of the issues that stand out in  the replies include the following: 
• need for enhanced interaction among EPs/NNAs; 
• interest in best practices and any accompanying hardware and/or software tools; 
• need to raise awareness at the political  level and with the private sector; 
• difficulties in obtaining full texts and/or summaries of notified measures; 
• consideration of whether measures, which conf orm to international standards, should be 
notified to the WTO; 
• need for enhanced interaction among WTO EPs/ NNAs and the national contact points of the 
three standard-setting bodies; 
• more regular provision of HS codes in notifications; 
• difficulty of screening notifications. 
 10. Most of these issues were addressed directly  or indirectly during the workshop and some 
concrete actions were recommended. 
B. 
THE WORKSHOP PROGRAMME  
11. The workshop programme (G/SPS/GEN/794/Rev. 1), was developed in light of the 
discussions in the context of the Second Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS 
Agreement, the transparency agenda item of th e Committee, the results of the above-mentioned 
questionnaire, and specific suggestions from Members. 
12. The programme consisted of brief presentations by the Secretariat and one from the Enquiry 
Point of Chile on managing the flow of notificati ons.  Discussions in break-out sessions based on an 
indicative list of issues compiled by the Secretaria t complemented discussions at the plenary level.  
The question addressed during the first break-out s ession was "What it takes to be transparent and 
benefit from a transparent system".  The focus of the second session was on identifying concrete 
actions, which could be taken at di fferent levels, to enhance the use and usefulness of transparency 
provisions. 
C. SECRETARIAT INPUTS PRIOR TO THE WORKSHOP  
13. In addition to the Analysis of the Replies to the Questionnaire, the Secretariat prepared an 
Overview Regarding the Level of Implementati on of the Transparency Provisions of the SPS 
Agreement (G/SPS/GEN/804) as well as a Compilation of  Proposals Regarding the Revision of the 
Recommended Procedures for Implementing the Tran sparency Obligations of the SPS Agreement 
(Article 7) (G/SPS/W/215). G/SPS/R/47 
Page 4  
 
  14. The overview regarding the level of implementati on of the transparency provisions of the SPS 
Agreement covered aspects which the Secretariat is in a position to track (such as notifications) but not others where the Secretariat does not have access to the relevant information (such as provision of 
comments on notifications).  The new SPS Informat ion Management System, which provides detailed 
information on notifications as of 1 June 2007, was used to prepare the overview. 
15. The Overview noted that: 
• There are still a number of Members which have not notified an Enquiry Point and/or a 
National Notification Authority. 
• Considering all types of notifications, a total of  8,217 notifications had been submitted to the 
WTO by 31 August 2007.  There were 1,157 notif ications from 1 January to 31 August 2007. 
• 94 Members have submitted at least one notificati on to the WTO.  The share of notifications 
from developing countries and LDCs, that fo llowed on upward trend over the year, reached 
42 per cent; 
• About a quarter of the regular notifications ci rculated during the months of June, July, and 
August did not provide for a comment period.  Those notifications which indicated a deadline had provided on average 40 days for comments (as calculated between the deadline provided 
and the distribution date of the notification). 
 16. The Compilation of Proposals Regarding the Revision of the Recommended Procedures for 
Implementing the Transparency Obligations of the SPS Agreement (Article 7) consolidates 
suggestions and proposals put forth by Members, in particular in the context of the Second Review of 
the Implementation of the SPS Agreement and in discussi ons with regard to transparency at meetings 
of the SPS Committee.  It also incorporates prior de cisions of the Committee relating to transparency 
(e.g. unofficial translations, recognition of equiva lence) as well as some suggestions from the 
Secretariat based on the experience gained in the past years.   
17. Some of the proposed changes/clarificati ons contained in the document include: 
• encouraging Members to notify all regulations  that are based on, conform to, or are 
substantially the same as an international sta ndard, guideline or recommendation, if they are 
expected to have a significant impact on trade; 
• clarifying that the 60-day comment period to be  provided in regular no tifications should begin 
with the circulation of the notification by the WTO; 
• encouraging the provision of website links to  texts of regulations, where these exist;  and 
• encouraging the use of addenda for announcing the adoption or entry into force of a 
regulation. 
 D. 
MEMBERS ' INPUTS PRIOR TO THE WORKSHOP  
18. Three specific submissions were  received from Members as inputs for the workshop.  Points 
raised in China's Proposal on the Amendment to  the "Recommended Procedures for Implementing the 
Transparency Obligations of the SPS Agreement" (G /SPS/W/212) related mainly to the definition of 
the 60-day comment period, provision of documents re quested within five days and the circulation of 
addenda regarding the adoption or entry into force of new regulations.  These were reflected in the 
Compilation mentioned above and further discussed during the workshop.  G/SPS/R/47 
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  19. The issues raised in New Zealand's proposal on Technical Assistance for Operating the SPS 
Notification Authority and SPS Enquiry Point (G/SPS/W/214) concerned the development of a practical procedural manual and a mentoring mech anism.  The European Communities's Reflection 
Note on Experience Acquired in the Operational Procedures and Recent Experience, including on 
comments received from other Members on EC notifications (G/SPS/GEN/803), was also presented 
during the workshop.  
E. 
SPS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT SYSTEM  
20. In addition, the public website version of the SPS Information Management System (SPS 
IMS) was launched during the workshop (http://sps ims.wto.org).  Given the increasing number of 
SPS-related documents and information circulated over the years, it has become a challenge for 
Members, the WTO Secretariat and other interested parties to manage the information flow.  The SPS 
IMS is a tool for searching and reporting on WTO's SPS-related information.  It contains data on 
notifications, all SPS-related documents issued by the WTO, details of specific trade concerns and 
contact information on Enquiry Points and Notification Authorities.  Its interface is in English, French 
and Spanish and work is in progress to make the full dataset available in the three languages.  It builds 
on information available from Documents Online a nd the Central Registry of Notifications but 
includes additional data and advanced searching/re porting functions specific to the area of SPS.  
There will be a new release of the system  in March 2008 with some enhancements. 
21. The system is expected not only to enhance the Secretariat's efficiency and analytical 
capabilities but also Members' ab ility to access and report on SPS in formation according to their 
specific needs.  For example, the discussion held during the well-attended demonstration sessions 
indicate that many delegations are expecting to use the system to filter and assess incoming 
notifications with more ease and promptly alert re levant stakeholders.  One of the recommendations 
of the workshop was for the Secretariat to pursue further dissemination and training efforts on the SPS 
IMS.  At the same, the FAO International Portal  on Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health was 
identified as a useful source for accessing comprehensive SPS information going beyond WTO-
related matters.  The importance of the complement arities of efforts at the international level was 
emphasized. 
III. DISCUSSIONS HELD DURING THE WORKSHOP 
22. A significant portion of the workshop was dedicat ed to two break-out sessions at which four 
groups were formed based on langua ge (two in English, one in French, and one in Spanish).  
Rapporteurs from each group reported on the discussions at the plenary level. 
The discussions that took place during the breakout sessions not only identified concerns and 
constraints of Members but also pointed to po ssible solutions regarding the implementation of 
transparency provisions.    A. 
NATIONAL /INSTITUTIONAL CHALLENGES  
23. Members underlined a number of national issues wh ich affect the performance of a country in 
implementing and benefiting from transparency provisions. 
24. Securing awareness at the political level and among the public at large was identified as a 
starting point for enhancing the use and usefulness of  transparency provisions.  A Member first had to 
identify SPS transparency issues as a priority, give it the visibility it required as well as the budgetary 
commitment. G/SPS/R/47 
Page 6  
 
  25. Members pointed to the challenges of identifying the most appropriate agencies to function as 
the National Notification Authority or the  Enquiry  Point.  Some competence in SPS matters was 
necessary but more important was securing the info rmation flow among various government agencies 
and with the WTO and other Members.  Members we re reminded that according to paragraphs. 3 and 
10 of Annex B of the SPS Agreement each Member was obligated to designate only one notification 
authority and establish one Enquiry Point.  In practic e, more than one Enquiry Point was tolerated but 
not more than one National Notification Authority. 
26. National SPS Committees, with public and private sector representation, were one way to 
address the coordination problems in channelling out going notifications and reacting to incoming 
ones.  Semi-informal networking, focused taskforc es or having one publication for all official SPS 
communication could also be effective ways to enhance coordination.  
27. For managing the inflow of notifications and alerting the relevant stakeholders to avoid 
market access problems, informati on technology tools could be useful.  The Secretariat's weekly alert 
system for all new SPS documents and notifications was found very useful.  The new SPS Information Management System would assist even further in filtering and reporting on SPS 
notifications at the national level.  A first filtering of notifications could be done either at the product 
level or according to objectives of measures. 
28. There were various cooperation efforts at the regional/intergovernmental level but these did 
not always deliver the expected results.  A simple method coul d be to facilitate contact among 
Enquiry Points, for example through easy access to their email and telephone numbers.  Members were reminded to verify the Enquiry Point inform ation they had provided to the WTO and submit any 
modifications in a timely manner.  
29. Continued training and political and institutiona l support were necessary for the sustainability 
of transparency efforts. 
B. 
THE COMPILATION OF PROPOSALS (G/SPS/W/215) 
30. There was some specific discussion regardi ng the Compilation of Proposals (G/SPS/W/215), 
however Members requested more time for discussion and reflection before modifying the 
Recommended Procedures contained in G/SPS/7/Rev.2. 
31. With respect to the notification of measures c onforming to international standards, discussion 
focused on the definition of significant impact on trade and on the additional burden as well as 
benefits of submitting as well as receiving even mo re notifications.  A number of Members reminded 
the Committee that in the absen ce of mechanisms at the thr ee referenced standard-setting 
organizations with regard to the use of their sta ndards, it was important that the Committee facilitate 
the provision of this information in order to fulf il its task of monitoring the process of international 
harmonization stipulated in paragraph 4 of Article 12. 
32. With respect to the definition of the 60-day comment period, there was some disagreement 
over the date at which the comment period should begi n (i.e. notification to Secretariat or circulation 
by the Secretariat) and concerns about domestic re gulatory procedures which constrain extension of 
comment periods or the provision of additional co mment periods along with addenda to original 
notifications. 
33. With respect to the provision of an interval between the publication and entry into force of 
measures, it was noted that this should not preven t the prompt implementation of trade facilitating 
measures.  G/SPS/R/47 
 Page 7 
 
 
  34. Difficulties with respect to access to full texts of  regulations and their translations were once 
again highlighted.  Maintenance of  national websites could facilitate access but for certain developing 
countries and LDCs, maintenance of such websites w as costly.  Some Members asked the Secretariat 
to provide assistance in accessing full texts of regulati ons and also to look into the possibility of using 
the SPS IMS for this purpose.  With respect to tran slations, the Secretariat reminded Members that a 
mechanism had been developed for Members to in form others of the availability of unofficial 
translation through a supplement to the original notification.  Unfortunately this mechanism was not frequently used. 
35. Many Members called for the inclusion of HS c odes in notifications to the extent possible as 
this helped better identify potential impact of the notified measures.  The new SPS Information 
Management System would assist in managing inco ming notification as it included the relevant HS 
Codes for each notification, either directly pr ovided by the Members or assigned by the Central 
Registry of Notifications based on product informat ion provided in the notification.  Moreover, once 
the on-line submission of notifications became possi ble, it would include a drop-down list of all HS 
Codes, facilitating the selection of relevant codes.  However, it was important that Members reserved 
the right to apply the notified measure to other pr oducts than those contained under the specified HS 
Codes.  One Member also called for the reten tion of ICS Codes under item 3 of the notification 
format. 
36. Concern was expressed that certain emergency measures were becoming permanent 
measures.  Members should clearly indicate the period of application, including an end date, for all 
emergency notifications. 
37. There was also a discussion regarding the exte nt to which comments submitted with respect 
to notifications could be shared with all WTO Me mbers and through which mechanism.  As indicated 
in the EC submission for the workshop (G/SPS/ GEN/803), the European Communities had at times 
submitted documents to the Committee providing further explanations of EC policies, e.g. in relation 
to avian influenza, or other Members had circul ated their comments relating to measures of the 
European Communities, e.g. Peru on the proposed changes to the EC Novel Foods Regulation.  
However, there was currently no formal multilate ral mechanism for sharing comments with other 
Members. 
38. Members were invited to submit written comments on the Compilation of Proposals 
contained in G/SPS/W/215 so that a revision could be circulated by the Secretariat well in advance of 
the next meeting of the Committee. 
C. 
MENTORING MECHANISM  
39. With respect to New Zealand's proposal re garding the establishment of a mentoring 
mechanism, there was rich discussion on the proce dures that could be followed.  The Secretariat 
agreed to develop a proposed mechanism for facil itating the mentoring.  It was recognized that 
mentoring was about developing a supportive long-ter m relationship which might include visits or 
training workshops.  Developing countries could also  act as mentors and regional organizations could 
participate in the mentoring process. Arrangements and mechanisms for mentoring needed to be reviewed on a regular basis. A number of de legations stressed that this mechanism should 
complement and not substitute for other b ilateral, regional, or multilateral efforts. 
D. 
BEST PRACTICES /PROCEDURAL TIPS  
40. The representative of the Enquiry Point/National Notification Authority of Chile made a 
presentation on how to manage and benefit from in coming/outgoing notifications.  She pointed out 
that the legal tools were available but that they  had to be complemented by a proactive and well-G/SPS/R/47 
Page 8  
 
  coordinated system among the public and private sector  stakeholders at the national level in order to 
reap benefits from transparency.  Upon receipt of notifications, it was the Enquiry Point's responsibility to filter them and alert relevant stake holders but a concerted effort by the private and 
public sectors was required to appropriately assess the potential impact of a notification and raise concerns as necessary at international fora.  Awareness and competence with respect to the 
implementation of concepts such as equivalence and regionalization were also instrumental in using 
the transparency mechanism to maintain  and/or expand trading opportunities. 
41. With respect to New Zealand's proposal regardi ng the development of a practical procedural 
manual, issues discussed included the timing of no tifications, the allocation of individual versus 
institutional contact addresses and procedures for staff turnover.  It was important to keep the manual 
simple with a standard check-list of processes. New Zealand indicated that it would seek Member's 
comments on a draft manual in advance of the next SPS Committee.  The final version would be made 
available electronically through the WTO webs ite for easy access and further adjustments as 
necessary at the national level. 
42. During one of the break-out sessions, Canada sh ared its experience with its good practice 
checklist, including electronic newsletters, alerts, an d face-to-face meetings with stakeholders.  At the 
same time, some developing count ry Members underlined their diffi culties with respect to reliable 
electronic communication and the cost of holding meetings. 
43. Several Members shared information on their working procedures during the break-out 
sessions. 
IV. RECOMMENDATIONS ARISING FROM THE WORKSHOP 
44. The recommendations arising from the workshop included the following: 
• The revision of G/SPS/W/215 in light of discussions held during the workshop and any 
further suggestions from Members.  Such sugg estions should be subm itted by 15 November.  
The revised proposal would be considered by the Committee at its next meeting. 
• Preparation of a document by the Secretariat e xplaining transparency obligations and laying 
out some of the steps with respect to transpar ency obligations, including the intervals between 
various steps.  The paper should underline concre te benefits of transparency and of the SPS 
Agreement as a whole.  Some of the training ma terials already used by the Secretariat could 
provide useful guidance in identifying the steps to be taken by a Member upon reception of a notification with the potential to affect its exports. 
• Development of a suggested mechanism fo r implementing the "mentoring" proposal 
contained in New Zealand's submission. 
• More regular updates on the level of implementa tion of transparency provisions, similar to 
what was done in G/SPS/GEN/804. 
• Further training and dissemination of the SPS In formation Management System, which could 
serve as a vehicule for identifying notifications of interest and prepari ng newsletters/alerts at 
the national level.  In addition, the Secretariat was encouraged to pursue its work with respect 
to a procedure for Members to submit notifications on-line. 
• The development of a practical step-by-step procedural manual by in terested delegations, 
namely Australia and New Zealand, which woul d be distributed for consideration by other 
Members.  The finalized manual would be posted on the WTO website for access by all 
interested parties.   
  G/SPS/R/47 
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  45. The recommendations mentioned above could be further accompanied by efforts at the 
national/regional level, in cluding the following: 
• Awareness-raising activities at the national level. It was noted that technical assistance 
activities offered by the WTO Secretariat would serve as  a good opportunity to raise the 
profile of SPS issues. 
• More proactive involvement in the iden tification of technical assistance needs. 
• Using international standards as a point of depa rture for national legislation and participating 
actively in the work of the international st andard-setting bodies, benefitting from Trust Funds 
where possible. 
• Consideration of the development of websites at  the national and/or regional level, and of 
assistance to Members in this regard. 
• Further information exchange and sh aring of best practices at the 
bilateral/plurilateral/regional level a nd use of appropriate regional entities. 
• More active use of input into the FAO International Portal.  
 V. NEXT STEPS 
46. The Committee will consider the recommendati ons resulting from the workshop during its 
next meetings starting on 31 March 2008.  At that  time, the Secretariat will provide an update on 
those recommendations which involve specific inputs fro m the Secretariat.  Members are also invited 
to inform the Committee of any relevant actions they  have taken which might be of interest to other 
Members. 
 
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