RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  WT/ACC/YEM/5 
22 June 2004 
 
 (04-2701) 
Working Party on the 
Accession of Yemen Original:   English 
 
 
 
ACCESSION OF YEMEN 
 
Submission from the Republic of Yemen  
 
Check-list of Illustrative Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Issues and 
Check-list of Illustrative Technica l Barriers to Trade (TBT) Issues 
  
 The following submission, dated 16 June 2004, is  being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the Republic of Yemen. 
  
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 WT/ACC/YEM/5 
Page 2  
 
 Check-list of Illustrative SPS Issues
 
 
Commitments (by the time of accession) St atus of Implementation and Progress 
1. Standstill: the introduction of new standards, 
animal health regulations and food safety 
regulations shall conform to SPS Agreement 
principles. 1. Introduction of new standards, animal health 
regulations and food safety regulations shall 
confirm to SPS Agreemen t principles, however; 
full compliance with the Agreement shall 
require financial and technical assistance as 
well as an appropriate transitional period. 
2. Establishment and operation of a single Contact 
Point for Information ("enquiry point"). 2. Yemen will notify the WTO of the 
establishment of the SPS enquiry point, upon 
accession. 
3. Transparency: notification and access to 
documentation:  
 (a) identification of authority responsible for 
making notifications to the WTO and 
ensuring transparency obligations are met 
on an ongoing basis;  (a) Please see answer No. 2 above. 
 (b) establish guidance or law requiring 
publication of proposed measures at an 
early stage for comment;  (b) Yemen will take this matter into 
consideration when designing a plan for 
implementation of SPS Agreement. 
 (c) provision in law or administrative 
procedure to provide copies of proposed measures to WTO Members; and  (c) Please see answer No. 3 (b) above. 
 (d) require in law or administrative procedure, 
a reasonable period of time for comment 
from Members and the public, and 
establishment of a process to take 
comments into account without discrimination.  (d) Comments from Members and the public 
will be taken into account without 
discrimination, if requested. 
4. Necessity: measures are applied only to the 
extent necessary to protect human, animal or 
plant health. 4. Yemen's SPS measures are applied to the extent 
necessary to protect human, animal or plant 
health. 
5. Regulations Based on Science: regulations 
governing animal and plant health and food 
safety shall be based on scientific evidence. 5. Yemen confirms that SPS regulations would be 
based on the Agreement's provisions 
6. Harmonization: to the extent possible, members 
shall follow international standards, guidelines, and recommendations in establishing SPS 
measures. 6. Yemen, as a member of Codex Alimentarius 
Commission, IPPC, OIE, among other conventions, follows international standards, 
guidelines and recommendations. 
7. Equivalence: members shall recognize different 
measures that achieve the same level of protection. 7. Yemen would recognize the different SPS 
measures if they achieve the same level of protection. 
8. Risk Assessment: developing scientific 
evidence and conducting risk assessments to 
ensure that measures are based on science and applied only to the extent necessary to protect 
health. 8. Yemen shall endeavour to apply the above to 
the extent necessary to protect health; however, 
technical assistance is required in this respect. 
9. Regional conditions: measures take into 
account the regional char acteristics both of the 
areas from which products originate and the 
areas for which they are destined. 9. Yemen shall endeavour to take into account the 
regional characteristics in accordance with the 
SPS Agreement. 
10. Non-discrimination:  measures do not 
arbitrarily or unjustifia bly discriminate between 
different members or between domestic and 
foreign suppliers. 10. Yemen will endeavour not to use measures 
which arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate 
between members or between domestic and 
foreign suppliers.  WT/ACC/YEM/5 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Commitments (by the time of accession) St atus of Implementation and Progress 
11. Control, inspection and approval procedures: 
ensure that procedures, including systems for approval of the use of additives or for 
establishing tolerances for contaminants in 
foods, beverages or feedstuffs comply with the 
Agreement. 11. Yemen will respect the provisions of the 
agreement on control, inspection and approval Procedures; however, financial and technical 
assistance are required for full compliance. 
 WT/ACC/YEM/5 
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 Check-list of Illustrative TBT Issues
 
 
Commitments (by the time of accession) St atus of Implementation and Progress 
1. Standstill: the introduction of new standards, 
technical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures should be fully 
compatible with the TBT Agreement 1. Introduction of new standards, technical 
regulations and conformity assessment 
procedures would be in compliance with TBT 
Agreement principles; however, full compliance 
with the Agreement shall require financial and 
technical assistance as well as an appropriate transitional period.   
2. Submission of Statement on Implementation 2. Please refer to No. 1 above.  Yemen will 
endeavour to notify WTO of TBT Agreement 
implementation, upon accession. 
3. Establishment and operation of a single Contact 
Point for Information ("inquiry point") 3. Yemen will notify the WTO of the 
establishment of the TBT enquiry point, upon 
accession.                   
4. Identification of authority responsible for 
notifications, publications and other internal procedures to ensure tr ansparency obligations 
are met on an ongoing basis: 4. Identification of publication where notices and 
proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures will appear: 
 (a) identification of publication where notices 
of proposed technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures will 
appear;  (a) Notices and proposed technical regulations 
are currently distributed to domestic competent authorities.  They will be 
published in the "Specifications 
Magazine", issued by YSMO. 
 (b) identification of authority responsible for 
making notifications to the WTO;  (b) Please refer to answer No. 3 above. 
 (c) guidance/law to ensure regulatory 
authorities afford non-discriminatory consideration of comments in the 
preparation of a final regulation;  (c) Law No. 44/1999 on Standardization, 
Metrology and Quality Control, (document WT/ACC/YEM/4/Add.1). 
 
 (d) guidance/law to ensure regulatory 
authorities allow a reasonable period of time between the final publication of a 
technical regulation and conformity 
assessment procedure and its entry into 
force so that suppliers can adapt;  (d) Please refer to answer (4) (c) above. 
 (e) publication and notification of work 
programme for standards and non-
governmental conformity assessment procedures, including publication of 
notices of draft standards and an 
opportunity for public comment.  (e) Please refer to answer (4) (a) and (c) 
above. 
5. Development and Application of Technical 
Regulations and Conformity Assessment 
Procedures: Existence of legal and/or 
administrative underpinnings (or reasonable 
measures" as appropriat e) to ensure ongoing 
compliance with provisions of the agreement concerning, in particular:  
 (a) non-discrimination with respect to the 
treatment of products;  (a) Yemen does not discriminate between 
domestic and imported products when 
Standards specifications (Technical Regulations) and Conformity Assessment 
Procedures are developed and applied.  WT/ACC/YEM/5 
 Page 5 
 
 
 Commitments (by the time of accession) St atus of Implementation and Progress 
 (b) the prohibition of unnecessary obstacles to 
international trade and the consideration of less trade-restrictive alternatives to 
fulfilling legitimate objectives;  (b) Yemen, as a member of ISO and Basel 
Convention among others, complies with international standards, evidence, and 
recommendations developed by 
international organization, when  technical  
regulations and conformity assessment 
procedures are developed, approved, and applied. 
 (c) the ongoing review of technical 
regulations to ensure they are appropriate 
to achieve the desired legitimate objective;  (c) Yemen continuously reviews its technical 
regulations to ensure their appropriateness 
to achieve desired legitimate objectives. 
 (d) the considera tion of appropriate 
international standards, guides and 
recommendations as a basis for technical 
regulations and conformity assessment procedures;  (d) Yemen considers international standards, 
guides and recommendations as a basis for 
technical regulations and conformity 
assessment procedures. 
 
 (e) the consideration of equivalent technical 
regulations of other Members;  (e) Yemen will positively consider technical 
regulations of other Members in 
accordance with th e TBT Agreement; 
however, this requires receiving 
appropriate technical assistance. 
 (f) the acceptance of the results of conformity 
assessment procedures conducted by bodies in an exporting Member country;  (f) Yemen promotes the application of the 
Mutual Recognition Regime of conformity assessment with other countries, within a 
framework of non-discriminatory 
verification procedures and Yemeni 
recognized specifications 
 (g) non-discriminatory and cost-based fee 
structure.  (g) Fees and charges for conformity 
assessment of products are levied on a non-discriminatory basis between domestic and 
imported products, which commensurate 
with costs of services rendered. 
6. Development and Application of Standards and 
Conformity Assessment Procedures: Existence 
of legal and/or administrative underpinnings (or 
" reasonable measures" as appropriate) to ensure ongoing compliance with provisions of 
the agreement concerning, in particular:  
 (a) non-discrimination with respect to the 
treatment of products;  (a) Yemen does not discriminate between 
domestic and imported products when Standards and Conformity Assessment 
Procedures are developed and applied. 
 (b) the prohibition of unnecessary obstacles to 
international trade;  (b) Please refer to answer (5) (b) above. 
 
 (c) the consideration of appropriate 
international standards, guides and 
recommendations as a basis for standards;  (c) Yemen considers international standards, 
guides and recommendations as a basis for 
national standards.                 
 (d) non-discriminatory and cost-based fee 
structure.  (d) Please refer to answer (5) (g) above. 
 
 
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