RESTRICTED  WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SPS/R/34 
16 August 2004 
 (04-3439) 
Committee on Sanitary a nd Phytosanitary Measures  
  
 
SUMMARY OF THE MEETING HELD ON 22-23 JUNE 2004 
 
Note by the Secretariat
1 
 
 
I. ADOPTION OF THE AGENDA 
1. The Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary M easures (the "Committee") held its thirtieth 
meeting on 22-23 June 2004.  The agenda pr oposed in WTO/AIR/2335 was adopted with 
amendments. 
2. The Secretariat commented that the number of last minute submissions to the June meetings 
had made it difficult for the Secretariat to ensure th at all documents were available to delegates for 
Committee discussions in the correct format.  The S ecretariat requested that delegates submit these 
documents well in advance of the meeting, so that they could be circulated as formal documents, in 
the three WTO working languages.  Alternatively, the Secretariat would need to impose a working 
deadline for document submission to the Committee meetings. 
II. ELECTION OF THE CHAIR 
3. The Chairperson, Mr. Paul Martin (Canada), reported that the Chairman of the Council for 
Trade in Goods had carried out informal consulta tions on a slate of names for appointment as 
chairpersons to the subsidiary bodies of the Council for Trade in Goods in accordance with the 
established Guidelines for Appointment of Offi cers to WTO bodies.  On the basis of the 
understandings reached, the Committee elected Mr. Gr egg Young (United States) as Chairperson of 
the Committee by acclamation, to take over immediately in the session in progress.  The Committee 
congratulated the new Chairperson and expressed their appreciation for the outgoing Chairperson. 
III. ACTIVITIES OF MEMBERS 
Official controls (Regulation EC No. 882/2004) in the EC 
4. The representative of the Eur opean Communities described offi cial controls performed to 
ensure the verification of complianc e with feed and food laws, animal health and animal welfare rules 
which had been adopted by the Counsel and Parl iament of the European Union (Regulation EC 
No. 882/2004).  These new provisions would be im plemented beginning 1 January 2006.  The 
February 2003 proposal on official controls on f oodstuffs and animal feedstuffs had been notified 
under the SPS Agreement (G/SPS/N/EEC/191).  The p ackage of legislative instruments simplified 
Community legislation with respect to food hygiene,  by replacing seventeen different directives with 
one harmonized, transparent policy.   
5. The representative of the United States expressed  appreciation for the additional information 
on the proposal provided to the Committee by the European Communities.  However, the 
                                                      
1 This document has been prepared under the Secret ariat's own responsibility and is without prejudice 
to the positions of Members or to their rights or obligations under the WTO.  G/SPS/R/34 
Page 2  
 
 United States continued to have concerns about th ese provisions, specifically with the requirement for 
control plans and lists of high risk products from th ird countries, and would c ontinue to consult with 
the European Communities as the implementation date approached. 
Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in Argentina 
 6. The representative of Argentina reported that the 72
nd Regular Session of the World 
Organization for Animal Health (OIE) had granted Ar gentina the status of country provisionally free 
of BSE.  Argentina had achieved this through co-operation with three other countries and with 
investment in human and financial resources to maintain proper monitoring of the disease.   
7. The representatives of Uruguay and Iceland noted that the OIE 72nd Regular Session had also 
granted their countries "provisionally-free" from BSE status. 
Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) in Argentina 
 
8. The representative of Argentina provided informa tion on the national plan for eradication of 
FMD.  Since first detection of the most recent focus of the disease in Argentina eight months ago, no 
clinical evidence or proof of the disease had been  identified in the region where the focus had 
occurred. Epidemiological surveillance over the six m onths since the first identification of the disease 
found no antibodies against the FMD virus in the pop ulation studied.  Intensive surveillance activities 
in the border area in the north of Argentina woul d continue, including official vaccination of all 
species likely to be infected.  
9. The representative of Uruguay highlighted the u sefulness of this information and noted that 
the OIE had also recognized Uruguay as disease-free for FMD. 
FMD in Colombia 
 
10. The representative of Colombia summarized de tails of the situation and control efforts 
relating to FMD in his country (G/SPS/GEN/492).  Since 1997, the OIE had recognized the North of 
Chocó department as an area free of FMD without vaccination.  In May 2001, the OIE had recognized 
the northern area of Colombia as an area free of FM D with vaccination.  In May 2003, OIE granted 
the status of area free of FMD with vaccination to a new area including the majority of the municipal 
areas in the departments of Antioquia, Bolívar, Cesar , northern Santander and Santander.  The animal 
health service of Colombia had re quested the same recognition be c onsidered in the October meeting 
for two other areas.  The document provided information on the current status of each of the areas 
described, as well as details of production sites, th e last outbreak of FMD in the endemic zone, the 
vaccination cycles, and relevant legislation.   
Avian Influenza in Canada 
11. The representative of Canada updated the Comm ittee on efforts to control the outbreak of 
Avian Influenza within the province of British Co lombia, including the depopulation of all poultry 
flocks in the high risk area and the implementa tion of control measures on processing and sales of 
poultry meat.  Since the first case of highly path enogenic avian influenza had been identified, on-
going surveillance efforts had detected 42 commercial and 11 backyard infected premises.  Since 18 
June 2004, the depopulation, cleaning and disinfecti on in the high risk region had been completed on 
all infected premises and the OIE-recommende d 21-day required surveillance period had been 
initiated.  Movement controls on all birds would re main in effect until the end of the surveillance 
period.  A number of trading partners had regi onalized their import restrictions, and Canada 
anticipated normalizing bilateral trade in pou ltry and poultry products from all of Canada.  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 3 
 
 
 Bovine and Bubaline Identification a nd Certification System in Brazil 
 
12. The representative of Brazil highlighted the growing importance of animal traceability and 
identification for international trade of animals a nd animal products and prov ided details of Brazil's 
efforts in this area (G/SPS/GEN/503).  The Br azilian Bovine and Bubaline Identification and 
Certification System (SISBOV) had been adopted  in January 2002.  The SISBOV consisted of 
actions, measures, and procedures to characteriz e the origin, the sanitary status, production and 
productivity of the entire Brazilian cattle raising system , as well as the safety of related products.  The 
SISBOV was based on individual identification of the an imal from its birth to its slaughter or natural 
or accidental death.  The information was cen tralized on a single electronic database operated 
exclusively by the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply. 
13. The representative of Brazil also noted that th e OIE had approved a resolution on future work 
in the field of animal identification and traceability at its May 2004 meeting.  He encouraged collaboration of the OIE with the Codex Alimentari us Commission to achieve a common definition of 
animal traceability and guidelines for the developm ent of identification and traceability systems to 
adequately address sanitary risks. 
14. The representative of the European Comm unities recalled that document G/SPS/GEN/489 
provided details of the EC traceability system, including the computerized system which improved the management of animal movement within and into the European Union.   
Avian Influenza in Indonesia 
15. The representative of Indonesia informed the Committee that in January 2004, his 
Government had officially declared that deaths of poultry had been caused by highly pathogenic avian 
influenza (HPAI) with H5N1 subtype (G/SPS/GEN/ 506).  No human case had been reported by the 
Department of Health of Indonesia.  Following FAO, OIE and WHO recommendations for the control 
and eradication of the disease, depopulation had b een carried out on all infected farms through 
elimination of healthy poultry in contact with  infected poultry and vaccinations had covered 
approximately 21.4 million birds.   
Pseudococcidae in fresh fruit from Chile 
16. The representative from Chile expressed concern about the phytosanitary measures adopted 
by certain Members relating to the presence of insects of the family Pseudococcidae  in fresh fruit 
exported for consumption (G/SPS/GEN/499).  He stat ed that some Members had adopted measures 
which were inconsistent with inte rnational standards issued by the IPPC, particularly ISPM 14 "Pest 
Risk Analysis (PRA) for Quarantine Pests Including Analysis of Environmental Risks".  While this 
standard stated that the assessment of the poten tial for introduction must consider both the entry and 
establishment of the pest, the phytosanitary measure s introduced by certain Members had been based 
only on the probability of entry of this pest.  These  insects could not become a risk, since they did not 
have the capacity to spread autonomously from th e fruit to the environment.  Chile urged Members 
that had established measures of this kind to comply  with international rul es, to reassess their risk 
analyses and to ensure the compliance of their ph ytosanitary risk management measures with the 
SPS Agreement.   G/SPS/R/34 
Page 4  
 
 IV. SPECIFIC TRADE CONCERNS 
(a) New Issues 
United Arab Emirates' and Qatar's impo rt restrictions on Spanish olive oil 
17. The representative of the European Communities ra ised concerns about import restrictions on 
Spanish pomace olive oil by some Gulf countries.  Af ter an isolated safety incident in 2001, some 
Members applied restrictive measures to this produc t.  Since 2001, most Members had gradually lifted 
the import ban, but Gulf countries had maintained rest rictions on this item.  The representative of the 
European Communities indicated that these products no longer presented risk for human or animal 
health, since corrective measures ha d been quickly and properly applied by the competent authorities 
of Spain.  He requested that Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates 
immediately lift the ban on any type of olive oil imported from the European Union, since this ban 
was not based on any scientific evidence . 
(b) Issues Previously Raised 
Japan's official control restrictions  
 18. The representative of New Zealand welcomed the conclusion of Japan's review of its plant 
quarantine regime and urged that the recomme ndations of Japan's Plant Quarantine Review 
Committee, particularly the recommendation that Jap an move towards international practice, be 
adopted promptly.  This issue had first been rais ed in the SPS Committee in March 2002, but  bilateral 
exchanges had been occurring since 1986 between Ne w Zealand and Japan on this issue.  With the 
conclusion of the plant quarantine review, New Z ealand expected that Japan would expand its non-
quarantine pest list to reflect those pests already in  Japan and not under official control.  Although the 
Plant Quarantine Review Committee's report had not yet been considered domestically and 
implementation timelines had not been published,  New Zealand hoped that a mutually acceptable 
solution could be reached soon. 
19. The representative of the United States recalled that  his country had also previously raised the 
issue of Japan's official control restrictions.  At  the last Committee meeting, he had provided an 
update on Japan's policy for requiring fumigation fo r non-quarantine pests, even when these pests 
were commonly found in Japan.  On 8 October 2003 the US Department of Agriculture had written to 
the Japanese Ministry of Forestry and Agriculture re garding concerns about eleven specific pests that 
did not meet the definition of a quarantine pest.  The United States welcomed Japan's written response 
which had recognized the necessity of taking into acc ount the relevant standards of the IPPC when 
conducting pest risk assessments (PRAs).  ISPM 2, "Guidelines for Pest  Risk  Assessment", indicated 
that the PRA process should end when, in the course of the analysis, a potential quarantine pest had 
been identified as present and not subject to official controls. 
20. The representative of the Europ ean Communities shared the con cerns of New Zealand and the 
United States.   
21. The representative of Japan indicated his aut horities were identifying measures which would 
maintain Japan's appropriate leve l of protection and be  consistent with re levant international 
standards.  The Consultative Group on Plant Quarantine Systems published its report on 21 May 2004, including input from national stakeholde rs and foreign governments.  The Consultative 
Group recommended that plant quarantine measures s hould be based on scientific risk assessments, 
following IPPC guidelines.  In the review of ex isting PRAs, the plant quarantine authorities had 
focused on high priority pests designated by other Me mbers.  As a first step, Japan planned to notify 
these measures by December 2004.    G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 5 
 
 
 India's phytosanitary import restrictions 
 
22. The representative of the European Commun ities raised concerns about India's import 
restrictions related to plant quarantine.  While India had amended the wood packaging part of these 
measures and brought them into line with internationa l standards, concerns re mained about a range of 
other existing measures that had negative trade impact s.  India had not produced scientific information 
to justify these measures.  The Eu ropean Communities understood that according to India's regulatory 
approach in this area many types of products were  banned before PRAs were  conducted to determine 
if a ban was justified.  Since no international sta ndards existed for many of the banned products, in 
accordance with the SPS Agreement, India should co nduct a PRA prior to implementing a measure.  
23. The representatives of Canada, New Zealand and the United States echoed the EC concerns.  
Both the representatives of Canada and New Ze aland stressed that Members had not had an 
opportunity to comment on these measures, and indicated that their authorities were engaged in bilateral discussions with India to  seek resolution to this issue. 
24. The representative of India stated that the Plant Quarantine Order had been notified on 
4 March 2004 and 60 days had been provided for comment.  India had delayed implementation of 
these measures until the comments could be consider ed.  The Ministry of Agriculture had also 
discussed the phytosanitary concerns of other Memb ers on a bilateral basis, and in some cases had 
provided short-term solutions to the issues.  For example, India had accepted all import consignments 
of plant and plant materials until 30 June 2004 to  provide ample adjustment period to exporting 
Members.  As suggested by some  Members, some provisions of the Plant Quarantine Order 2003 had 
already been amended, including those on treatment  of solid wood packaging materials, and these 
amendments had been notified to the Secretariat.  
Japan's restrictions on importation of mangoes 
 
25. The representative of Brazil recalled that Brazil ha d first raised this issue in the Committee in 
June 2003.  After the last meeting, Brazilian a nd Japanese phytosanitary authorities had held two 
technical meeting in Japan to discuss a phytosanitary protocol that would allow Brazilian mango exports to Japan.  In the last meeting, the Japan ese authorities had confirmed that negotiations on the 
protocol had been concluded, and certification of consignments remained the only outstanding issue.  
The Japanese authorities had indicated that this issu e could be resolved in parallel with the public 
consultation phase and Brazil encouraged Japan to initiate the public consultation soon.   
26. The representative of Japan confirmed that th e technical evaluation on the Mediterranean fruit 
fly had been completed and a bilateral meeting had been held to coordinate plant quarantine measures 
for market access and requirements for hot water di pping.  The new protocol was expected to be 
implemented based on the outcomes of these bilateral discussions. 
EC sanitary conditions for the im portation of bees and material 
 
27. The representative of Argentina expressed continued concern about the EC sanitary 
conditions for the importation of bees, hives, queen s with or without attendants, and bee-keeping 
material.  Argentina believed that requirements that  hives should be subject to official check at the 
point of destination and queens transferred to new locations were not supported by scientific 
justification.  In addition, the EC measure did not consider the health situa tion of exporting countries.  
Argentina had provided documentation that the pests in  question had not been detected in Argentina.  
Argentina hoped that an upcoming bilateral mee ting with the European Communities would resolve 
this issue. G/SPS/R/34 
Page 6  
 
 28. The representatives of Australia and the United States also expressed concerns about the 
appropriateness of the EC measure.  Australia consid ered that the measures were inappropriate for the 
management of the small hive beetle.  The represen tative of the United States indicated that honey bee 
exports from Hawaii to the European Communities ha d been halted, although the state of Hawaii was 
free of many of the pests covered by this measure.  He  requested that the certification requirements 
for honey bees from Hawaii be modified to reflect the conditions there. 
29. The representative of the European Communities re called that these rules had been introduced 
to preserve the parasite free status of honey bees in  the European Union.  The European Communities 
was prepared to review the legislation and borde r measures of Argentina and other countries, when 
documentation had been provided, in order to assess the possibility of instituting joint measures. 
Venezuela's restrictions on imports of potatoes, meat, and onions 
 
30. The representative of Canada recalled that Cana da had raised concerns with Venezuela's 
issuance of SPS-related permits in previous SPS Committee and Agriculture Committee meetings.  
Venezuela's policies had restricted Canadian e xports of meat, seed potatoes, table potatoes and 
onions.  Venezuela had not provided a clear explanation of this policy, however it appeared that the 
permits in question were SPS-rela ted.  Importers would apply to Venezuelan authorities for permits 
and provide SPS information to support their applicati on, but applications had been denied without an 
SPS-related justification.  Canada requested that Venezuela grant permits on an automatic basis as 
long as the conditions of the SPS Agreement had been  met.  Venezuela and Canada had agreed to 
continue to pursue this issue bilaterally. 
31. The representatives of Chile and the United States requested that Venezuela review its import 
procedures in order to comply with obligations under the SPS Agreement.  The representative of the 
United States noted that for products not subject to  tariff rate quotas (TRQs), Venezuela seemed to be 
using SPS permits in a manner equivalent to import licences. 
32. The representative of Venezuela stated that Canadian import requests were normally given a 
positive reply.  The comments from Canada, Chil e and the United States would be considered 
carefully.  Venezuela would contact the Canadian authorities to clarify the situation concerning import requests of meat. 
Indonesia's restrictions on importation of meat due to FMD  
 
33. The representative of Argentina st ated that despite several requ ests to Indonesia's veterinary 
service, Argentine bovine meat had continued to be prohibited.  Indonesia required that bovine 
products come from areas free from FMD for the past twelve months, and where vaccination had not been carried out in the previous three consecu tive years.  These measures go beyond official OIE 
recommendations.  Indonesia had not provided any scientific evidence to support these restrictive 
measures.   
34. The representative of Indonesia noted that this matter had been discussed in bilateral meetings 
with the delegation of Argentina.  The importati on of ruminants and ruminant products from countries 
with endemic status or status of free of FM D with vaccination was pr ohibited pending further 
decisions by the Indonesian expert commissions of ve terinary public health and animal health.  He 
would inform the appropriate officials in capital fo r their further consideration and clarification. 
Lack of recognition of disease-free status for FMD 
35. The representative of the European Communities stated that all EC member States were 
officially free of FMD according to the OIE criteria.  However, some WTO Members failed to  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 7 
 
 
 recognize this status.  No new outbreaks of FMD had been recorded in the te rritory of the European 
Communities since 2002. The Europ ean Communities considered the epidemic to be under control 
and the disease completely eradicated.  According to  the OIE rules, countries could recover free status 
three months after the last identified case when  a stamping out policy and serological surveillance 
were applied.  There was no scientific justificati on for restrictive measures on EC products due to 
FMD.  The European Communities urged all Member s to respect the obligations of SPS Agreement 
with regard to recognition of disease free status an d to remove all continued import restrictions 
concerning FMD. 
Lack of recognition of disease-free status and of regionalization for Classical Swine Fever 
 36. The representative of the European Communities al so highlighted the lack of recognition of 
regionalization for Classical Swine Fever.  The Eu ropean Communities had continued to recognize 
area disease-free status in several WTO Members who themselves failed to recognize regionalization in the European Communities.  The European Communities regularly provided information to 
importing countries upon request concerning which EC  member States could be considered free of 
Classical Swine Fever and had also facilitated inspections.  However some WTO Members continued 
to impose restrictions on imports from Italy and France based on concerns about Classical Swine 
Fever.  The European Communities urged Member s to respect Article 6 of the SPS Agreement, 
particularly related to Italy and France, and offere d to provide any relevant information to support the 
implementation of this request.  
General import restrictions due to BSE 
 
37. The representative of the European Communiti es raised concerns about unjustified import 
restrictions on EC exports due to concerns about BSE.  To satisfy consumer demands, the European 
Communities had adopted comprehensive measures to address risks relating to BSE.  These measures 
applied both to products intended for consumption within the Eur opean Communities, and to those 
destined for export.  The system of geographical  assessment used in the European Communities had 
successfully identified countries in which the disease was still present.  The representative from the 
European Communities called on other countries to replace import bans, which exceeded OIE 
recommendations and yet did not fully address pot ential internal risks, with specific import 
requirements in accordance with OIE standards.  He  noted that many products, such as semen, 
embryos and dairy products could be  traded with predefined guarantees.  He urged Members to take 
into consideration OIE recommendations for intern ational trade and to stop discriminating among 
Members with similar BSE conditions. 
38. Reiterating one of the points raised by the Eu ropean Communities, the representative from 
Canada recalled that at its last meeting the OIE ha d reconfirmed that some products, such as semen, 
embryos, hides, and milk, did not contribute to th e transmission of BSE.  Hence the imports of these 
types of products did not provide a potential pathway for introduction of the disease.   
The EC animal by-product requirements  
39. The representative of the United States drew  attention to EC Regulation No. 1774 which 
imposed new requirements on gelatine, tallow, pet food, yellow grease and other animal by-products 
not intended for human consumption.  This regu lation had been implemented on 15 June 2004, 
although product could arrive in the European Communities as late as 15 August 2004.  He reported 
that while consultations had lead to derogations on  hide, skins and tallow, the United States continued 
to be concerned about other provisions of the regul ation, particularly those related to pet food and 
yellow grease. G/SPS/R/34 
Page 8  
 
 40. The representative of Canada expressed satis faction that the European Communities had 
adopted two transitional measures requested by Cana da.  He commented that since these complicated 
regulations had been put in place, the European au thorities had indicated that a flexible enforcement 
strategy would be implemented until 15 August 2004.  Although no problems had yet been reported 
by Canadian exporters, problems could arise w ith the end of "soft" enforcement in August. 
41. The representative of the European Commun ities commented that based upon on-going 
consultations with the United States and Canada , the European Communities had modified the 
regulations to include justified ex emptions.  The EC regulation allo wed cooking oils (yellow grease) 
to be used for animal feed only when they came from the food industry and only when a reliable 
system of traceability had been established.  Impo rted used cooking oils intended for technical 
purposes remained authorized without restriction.  The use of animal carcasses judged unfit for human 
consumption in pet food had been prohibited based  upon scientific information which indicated that 
the BSE epidemic had spread through recycling of in fected bovine material in bovine feed.  A waiver 
had been implemented for the use of wild fish protei n for feed for fish in fi sh farms.  The European 
Communities indicated a willingness to discuss implementation of this regulation with Members 
concerned about potential trade restrictions.  
India's restrictions due to avian influenza 
42. The representative of the European Communities stated that India continued to apply import 
bans on a range of poultry products, including live birds, fresh meat and fresh meat products from 
several countries allegedly in response to highly path enogenic avian influenza, since February 2004.  
These blanket import bans were disproportionate to the risk and should be confined to imports from 
regions affected by the disease in accordance  with OIE recommendations.  The European 
Communities was officially free of this disease, according to the OIE criteria, and had implemented safeguard measures to protect this sanitary status.  He asked that India review the current ban and lift 
all restrictions on poultry products from the European Communities. 
43. The representative of India responded that m easures prohibiting poultry and poultry products 
had been implemented as temporary measures.   New outbreaks of highly pathenogenic avian 
influenza in WTO Members, but not within the te rritories of the European Communities, had been 
reported as recently as 4 June 2004.  Since poultry production in India was typically a family-run 
business, Indian authorities were particularly con cerned about potential hu man development of the 
disease.   
The United States de-listing of France from authoriza tion to export certain meat and meat products to 
the United States  
44. The representative of the Europ ean Communities had raised this issue under other business in 
the March meeting, but no resolution had been  achieved.  The inspection services of the 
US Department of Agriculture (USDA) audite d the French veterinary services and eleven 
establishments authorized to export meat products to the United States early in 2004.  Six of these 
establishments had not had any major infractions.  In February 2004, the US authorities had notified 
the EC authorities of the decision to suspend French  eligibility to export meat and meat products to 
the United States.  The French authorities had fo rwarded a detailed plan of action about how to 
respond to US requirements for administrative pr actices relating to controls.  The European 
Communities praised the United States for its offer to  participate in training of French veterinary 
inspectors.  Still the European Co mmunities believed that some restri ctions were disproportionate and 
discriminatory, and urged the United States to lift the prohibition on the six establishments exporting 
meat and meat products to the United States.    G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 9 
 
 
 45. The representative of the United States stated that on 24 February 2004 the United States had 
suspended French exports of meat and meat produc ts to the United States due to process control and 
sanitation deficiencies identified over a multi-year  period.  France had been informed that 
unsatisfactory results of the January enforcement audit would result in suspension of French meat 
exports to the United States.  United States and Fr ench inspection officials had discussed the audit 
findings and follow-up actions, and France had acknowledged deficienci es and agreed to submit a 
new action plan to the USDA.  The USDA would complete its review shortly and communicate 
findings to the French authorities.  The USDA ha d identified experts in the European Union and 
United States who could provide training of Fren ch inspection personnel in the implementation of 
HACCP system.  A technical seminar would be held in September 2004 for senior foreign meat 
inspection officials on the verification and enforc ement of pathogen reduc tion HACCP requirements 
in meat export establishments.  France had indicated  that it would send two senior officials to this 
seminar.  The United States emphasized its commitm ent to work with France to reinstate their 
eligibility to export meat and meat exports to the United States. 
Korea's maximum residue level testing  
46. The representative of the United States raised concerns about Korea's import inspection 
program which required that imported grains, fruits  and vegetables be subj ect to annual MRL test 
requirements for the presence of 196 agricultural chemic als.  Importers would bear the cost of these 
tests, estimated at US$1-2,000 each.  While the Unite d States recognized Korea's attempts to modify 
their requirements through the issuance of no tifications G/SPS/N/KOR/154 and 155 in 2004, the 
proposed fee for testing would still be twice as large as that proposed by Korea's Food and Drug 
Administration.  Although the number of chemical s subject to mandatory testing had been reduced 
from 196 to 47, domestic producers were exempt fr om the mandatory testing requirement.  Thus, 
Korea's import inspection program was inconsistent with national tr eatment provisions of the WTO.  
Despite bilateral discussions over the past year, the United States perceived insufficient progress on 
this issue and hoped for more significant progress in the future. 
47. The representatives of Australia, Canada and the European Commun ities expressed similar 
concerns.  
48. The representative of Korea emphasized that  both the testing fees and the number of 
agricultural chemicals for which mandatory testing was required had been substantially reduced.  In 
order to provide testing exemptions based upon comp liance history, the relevant regulations would 
need to be revised.   
(c) Consideration of Specific Notifications Received  
EC maximum residue levels for pesticides on food (G/SPS/N/EEC/236 and 237) 
49.  The representative of China raised concer ns that the maximum residue limits (MRLs) 
notified in G/SPS/N/EEC/236 and 237 were several times higher than the MRLs proposed by the 
Codex Alimentarius Commission and by  other developed countries.  He requested that the European 
Communities provide scientific justification for its  measures or modify the MRLs according to 
relevant international standards.  In addition, Ch ina requested that the Eu ropean Communities extend 
the time period for implementation of the measure fr om the date of adoption to one year and provide 
China with the testing methods for the concerned MRLs. 
50. The representative of the Eur opean Communities informed the Committee that he had been 
prepared to address China's concerns on notifica tion G/SPS/N/EEC/243, which was indicated in the 
draft agenda, and was not prepared to provide  specific answers to China's concerns on the 
notifications G/SPS/N/EEC/236 and 237.  However, a written detailed reply would be sent to China G/SPS/R/34 
Page 10  
 
 shortly.  The representative of the European Comm unities clarified that the proposed date of entry 
into force in notifications G/SPS/N/EEC/236 and 237 should read 19 January 2005 instead of 19 
January 2004.  Furthermore, some of the Code x MRLs mentioned by China were proposed for 
revocation at the next meeting of the Codex Al imentarius Commission.  EC MRL standards for 
pesticide quantities in foodstuffs were higher th an international standards in four cases:  
(1) phyto-pharmaceutical products which did not lead to detectable levels of pesticides residues in 
foodstuffs;  (2) unauthorized use of the pesticides;  (3) EC authorizations which were  unsupported by 
technical and scientific evidence;   and (4) residues present in imported foods without sufficient 
scientific evidence indicating their food safety.  In  this case, the European Communities undertook its 
own assessment and was also willing to consid er data submitted by the exporting country. 
51. The Chair asked the European Communities to su bmit an addendum to clarify the dates on the 
concerned notifications for the benefit of Members not present in the meeting. 
India's non-notification of various SPS measures 
52. The representative of the United States indicated that his country shared the concerns raised 
earlier by several Members over India's non-notification of various SPS measures.  India's non-
notification, or late notification, of SPS measure s  had created unnecessary trade disruptions and an 
uncertain environment for trade.  He requested that India comply with obligations under the SPS 
Agreement by notifying all its SPS measures to th e WTO and providing a reasonable period of time 
for Members to review and comment on the notifications. 
53. The representatives of Australia, the European  Communities and New Zealand shared the 
concerns raised by the United States. 
54. The representative of India stated that India attached great importance to the issue of 
transparency.  With respect to India's Plant Qu arantine Order 2003, statements had already been 
provided to the European Communities and the i ssue had been discussed at the March Committee 
meeting.  India had notified the measure on 4 Ma rch, 2004 with a 60-day comment period and had 
ensured that trade was not restricted because of  the lack of timeliness of the notification.  
(d) Information on resolution of issues 
Brazil's import requirements for seed potatoes 
55. The representative of Canada informed the Committee that the issue of Brazil's import 
requirements for seed potatoes had been resolved, and Brazil had made a number of adjustments to the levels of regulation of non-quarantine pests.  Canada reminded Members of the importance of 
notifying their SPS measures sufficiently in advance to provide an opportunity to comment before 
regulations are finalized to avoid future problems of this nature.  
56. The representative of Brazil requested that G/ SPS/GEN/204/Rev.4 (paragraphs 88-92) reflect 
that the issue had been resolved. 
57. The representative of Turkey in formed the Committee that Turkey had lifted its ban on 
imports on pet foods from Hungry and had also resolv ed the issue of restrictions on banana imports 
from Ecuador.  He requested that document G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.4 reflect these updates 
(paragraphs 464 and 471).  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 11 
 
 
 V. OPERATION OF TRANSPARENCY PROVISIONS 
(a) Report on the informal meeting 
58. The Chairperson reported that at the informal meeting on transparency held on 21 June, the 
Committee had considered two issues related to tran sparency:  the proposals by Mexico and Egypt on 
pre-notification (G/SPS/W/136 and W/143, respectivel y) and China's written report on the analysis of 
SPS notifications in 2003 (G/SPS/GEN/498).  In ad dition, Mr. Robson of the FAO, had provided a 
demonstration of the International Portal fo r Food Safety, Animal and Plant Health.   
59. Mexico and Egypt had recalled that the pre-notif ication of regulatory calendars or intentions 
provided trading partners with advance information at an early stage in the drafting of the regulations.  
Mexico had drawn attention to the circulation of  its national standardization programme for 2004 
(G/SPS/GEN/491) as an example. 
60. The European Communities had described its prac tice of notifying "White Papers" as an early 
indication of the EC's regulatory agenda, and of  subsequently notifying approved regulations as 
addenda to the earlier notifications.  Many Memb ers had agreed that the voluntary provision of 
information at an early stage in the deve lopment of SPS regulations would be useful. 
61. Canada, while acknowledging the benefits of pre-notifications from Members whose 
regulatory procedures so permitted, had stressed  the importance of ensuring implementation of 
existing provisions in the recommended notificati on procedures, in particular, providing copies of 
working documents within five days of a reques t;  acknowledging receipt of requested documents;  
acknowledging receipt of comments on notified measures, and explaining how comments would be taken into account.  Canada proposed that Member s provide written acknowledgement of request for, 
and receipt of, documents relating to notifications and comments on notifications  would be helpful.  
The Secretariat had drawn Members' attention to  model letters of acknow ledgement which were 
included in annexes to the Handbook on Applying the Transparency Provisions of the SPS 
Agreement. 
62. The Chair concluded that there was broad agreemen t that "pre-notification" or highlighting of 
regulatory plans enhanced transparency and could assi st Members, at an earlier stage of regulatory 
development, to prepare responses to new measures of trading partners.  The sense of the Committee 
was, therefore, that Members who were in a positio n to provide and indeed had been providing such 
advance notices should be encouraged to do so on voluntary basis.   
63. The Chair further reported that China had introduced their written analysis of SPS 
notifications in 2003, and had highlighted the clarif ications and additions which had been made to the 
document since its oral presentation to the Comm ittee in March.  A number of delegations had 
welcomed China's analysis as a useful tool to exam ine implementation of the transparency provisions. 
64. Referring to paragraph 9 in China's report, which examined the information provided in 
notifications concerning the existence of a relevant international standard, the Secretariat had recalled 
that Members were not obliged to notify SPS measur es if they did not deviate from an international 
standard.  However, no other international or ganization currently was collecting information 
regarding Members' use of international standards.  The Secretariat had suggested that in its next 
review of the recommended transparency proce dures, the Committee consider recommending that 
Members notify measures even when they were b ased on international standards.  A number of 
delegations had supporte d this suggestion to improve transparency. 
65. Mr. Robson had demonstrated the Internationa l Portal for Food Safety, Animal and Plant 
Health which provided internet access to official information on SPS regulatory issues.  The Portal G/SPS/R/34 
Page 12  
 
 had been designed to harvest official informatio n automatically from national and international 
organizations' formal websites.  FAO had worked  with countries to develop links with national 
websites in collaboration with national stakeholde rs.  While the navigation site was currently 
available in English, documents were often av ailable in multiple languages, depending upon their 
official internet source.  Mr. Robson had welcomed feedback from Members on the Portal, which was 
continuing to evolve since its official launch in May 2004. 
66. In response to the Chairperson's report, several  Members reiterated support for the proposal to 
recommend that Members notify measures based on inte rnational standards.  The representative of 
Canada suggested that this recommendation could be  considered within the context of the pending 
Review. 
67. The Chair drew Members' attention to the docum ents circulated by the Secretariat to enhance 
transparency within the context of the SPS Agreement.  These included: 
• Lists of National Notification Authorities (G/SPS/NNA/6, Corr.1, Add.1, and Add.2); 
• Lists of SPS Enquiry Points (G/SPS/ENQ/16, Corr.1, Add.1, and Add.2); 
• Updates of implementation of transparency  obligations (G/SPS/GEN/27/Rev.13); and 
• Monthly summaries of SPS notificatio ns (G/SPS/GEN/485, 488 and 493). 
68. The Secretariat informed the Committee th at some Members had already notified the 
existence of unofficial translations using the mech anism agreed to in the March Committee meeting. 
The Secretariat encouraged other Members to notify the existence of translations. 
 
VI. IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PROVISIO NS FOR SPECIAL AND DIFFERENTIAL 
(S&D)TREATMENT 
69. The Chair recalled that the Committee had in  principle adopted Canada's proposal on 
transparency on S&D (G/SPS/W/27) in April 2003, pe nding the elaboration of procedures.  At the 
meetings in June and October 2003 and March 2004, the Committee had considered various drafts by 
the Secretariat on the elaboration of procedures but  a consensus for finalizing the procedures had not 
been reached.  At the March 2004 meeting the Chai r had requested that any comments on the current 
version of the Elaboration (G/SPS/ W/123/Rev.3) be submitted by the end of April.  As no comments 
had been received by the deadline, no informal meeting had been scheduled for June.  However, one 
Member had since informed the Chair of its intent ion to submit a proposal for consideration at the 
next meeting and that it would therefore not be in a position to adopt the elaboration at this meeting.  
The Chair proposed that an informal meeting be held prior to the next regular meeting of the 
Committee in October and that the issue remain on the agenda of the next regular meeting. 
70. The representative of Canada reflected that at  the last meeting the Committee had nearly 
reached a consensus on this issue after two years of  discussion.  The debate should not be prolonged 
as the document described a useful  mechanism to provide information about the problems that 
developing countries faced and the assistance that th ey received from developed and other developing 
countries.  The proposal would use established tran sparency procedures to enhance the demand for, 
and supply of, solutions to problems faced by devel oping countries.  The delegate stressed that the 
proposal included a one year review clause and urged Members to suspend further comments until 
Members had had experience implementing the proposed procedures.    G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 13 
 
 
 71. The representative of Jamaica supported Canada 's statement and expressed disappointment 
that the document would not be adopted at this meeti ng, particularly given the understanding that if no 
comments had been received by the end of April,  the document as amended in the March meeting 
would have been adopted.  Dela ying the adoption of the document would only delay the possibilities 
for developing countries, including Jamaica, to benefit from S&D treatment. 
72. The representatives of Belize, Nicaragua and St. Vincent and the Grenadines shared the 
concerns of Canada and Jamaic a and supported the adoption of the proposed procedure with no 
amendments. 
73. The representatives of Brazil, Chile, Cuba, Ec uador, Peru and Uruguay expressed support for 
Canada and supported the adoption of document G/ SPS/W/123/Rev.3 at this meeting, with the 
removal of the footnote on page two. 
74. The representative of Malaysia apologised to  the Committee for having failed to meet the 
April deadline for raising their concerns.  While acknowledging Canada's statements on the one-year 
review clause, he expressed a systemic concern that review clauses could be difficult to implement in 
the WTO context.  Malaysia's view was that th is document would establish a procedure in which 
S&D treatment would be provided primarily on a request basis and thus would create additional 
burden on developing countries.  
75. The representative of the United States expr essed support for adoption of the document and 
shared the positions of Canada and Jamaica.  He noted that the Committee could be held accountable 
for implementing the review of the procedure in one year.  The United States was concerned that 
Malaysia's proposals could re-write the existing provisions of the SPS Agreement and were beyond 
the scope of the Committee. 
76. The representative of Canada recalled a discussion held three years ago in which developing 
countries had indicated that they were not receiving the appropriate type of S&D treatment from developed and importing countries.  The rationale behind this proposal was that specific requests 
would generate S&D treatment that would be better su ited to a particular developing country's needs.  
With this clarification, the representative of Canada  urged Malaysia to join other Members to adopt 
the document without further amendments. 
77. The representative of Malaysia reiterated his re quest that the Committee consider including in 
the language of the document the requirement that  developed countries provide S&D treatment of a 
generic nature when a measure was notified and provide additional S&D treatment if requested by 
developing countries. 
78. The Chair concluded that the Committee could not reach a consensus at this meeting and 
urged Members to consider Malaysia's questions  when formulating solutions on reaching a common 
position.  He requested Members to submit any comme nts before the end of September, and suggested 
that an informal meeting be scheduled for October 2004. 
VII. EQUIVALENCE  (ARTICLE 4) 
(a) Information from Members on their Experience 
79. No information on Member's experience s was provided under this agenda item. 
80. The representative of Canada drew attention to document G/SPS/19/Rev.1 and requested that 
the document be updated to reflect the activities whic h had already taken place in the standard-setting G/SPS/R/34 
Page 14  
 
 organizations.  The representative of Australia s uggested adding footnotes to the current document 
which would indicate when activities had already occurred. 
81. The Chair noted the suggestions of Canada a nd Australia and requested the Secretariat to 
identify the most appropriate way to provide the in formation requested.  The updated information was 
subsequently provided in footnotes in document G/SPS/19/Rev.2.   
(b) Information from Relevant  Observer Organizations 
82. The representative of the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) reported that the 
IPPC standards on equivalence had been developed and examined by the IPPC Standards Committee.  
The draft standards were in the process of country  consultations and comments were expected by the 
end of September 2004.  The Standards Committee w ould examine draft standards in November 2004 
and the Commission would consider them for adoption in April 2005. 
VIII.  PEST AND DISEASE-FREE AREAS (ARTICLE 6) 
(a) Report of Informal Meeting 
83. The Chairperson reported that at the informal me eting on the clarification of Article 6, the 
Committee's discussions benefited from inputs from the OIE and the IPPC.  Members' discussions had 
centred around the issues raised in  three specific proposal put forth by Chile, Canada, and Peru. 
84. The OIE representative had described the OIE' s procedures for recognition of disease-free 
zones and compartments, which had been adopted in May 2004.  These were procedures implemented 
by a country to define sub-populations of different  animal health status within its territory in 
accordance with OIE recommendations.  While a zone  was a clearly defined part of a country, a 
compartment was one or more establishments under a common biosecurity management system.  The 
OIE recommendations for zones or compartments  depended on the epidemiology of the disease, 
environmental factors, applicable biosecurity measures and necessary surveillance.  An exporting 
country seeking to define a zone or compartment w ithin its territory for an OIE-listed disease needed 
to implement OIE's recommended measures for identif ying the animal sub-population, recognizing its 
distinct health status and maintaining it.  The OI E was not conducting any work on the status of low-
prevalence of a disease as this did not have much practical value in the animal world.  The OIE 
officially verified and recognized the health status  for four diseases based on a set of pre-determined 
procedures. 
85. The representative of the IPPC had refe rred to two existing IPPC standards on 
regionalization: ISPM 4 on establishment of pest-free areas and ISPM 10 on pest-free areas of production.  In addition, a draft standard on areas of low pest prevalence was being circulated for 
comments in preparation for a Standards Committee m eeting in November.  If approved, the standard 
could be adopted in April 2005.  Mo reover, a technical panel had been  established to work on fruit-fly 
pest-free areas.  Its first meeting would be held in  September 2004.  Unlike the OIE, the IPPC did not 
have a system for verifying the pest-free status of any country. 
86. Chile had presented a revised proposal for a Deci sion on the Implementation of Article 6, in 
which Chile had incorporated comments from other Members on their earlier proposal 
(G/SPS/W/140/Rev.2).  Chile had reiterated the need for the SPS Committee to develop guidelines for 
the implementation of Article 6 and to establish a m echanism for information sharing on this topic.  
At the same time, the Committee could encourage the OIE and the IPPC to pursue complementary 
work in their respective areas of expertise.  Pe ru also had presented a proposal calling for the SPS 
Committee to establish guidelines on the implementati on of Article 6, including specific timelines.  
(G/SPS/W/148).  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 15 
 
 
 87. Canada had noted that its proposed decision urged the OIE and the IPPC to develop 
guidelines on "regionalization" as appropriate and regularly inform the Committee of developments (G/SPS/W/145).  At the same time, it called on Members to inform the SPS Committee of their practical experiences related to regionalization. 
88. A number of delegations had s upported the Canadian proposal.  These delegations had noted 
that regionalization was a technical issue and was b est dealt with by the relevant standard-setting 
organizations.  Duplication of work in various b odies should be avoided.  They also had suggested 
that it was not feasible to develop general guidelin es with timelines due to differences in specific 
diseases and pests as well as in regulatory systems of countries.  Some delegations had indicated that 
requests for recognition of a pest or disease status were best dealt with bilaterally on a case-by-case 
basis.  Others had noted that Members could raise their concerns relating to the non-use of 
international standards in the area of regiona lization under the Committee's agenda item on 
Monitoring the Use of International Standards. 
89. On the other hand, many delegations had suppor ted the Chilean proposal.  These delegations 
had stressed that eradicating a pest or a disease fr om a region, declaring that region "free", and 
maintaining that status were costly undertaki ngs for an exporting country.  Yet even when an 
exporting country followed the relevant internationa l recommendations, this did not mean that it could 
obtain "recognition" of this status from its tradi ng partners.  Complex administrative procedures and 
delays had led to extended periods of uncertainty.  They suggested th at what was needed was not only 
work at a technical level at the OIE and the IPPC but also guidelines from the SPS Committee on the 
implementation of Article 6, with a view to fa cilitating trade.  The agenda items of the SPS 
Committee on "information from Members" and "sp ecific trade concerns" included many items 
related to regionalization.  This also demonstrated the need for further work by the Committee in this 
area, similar to what had already been done fo r equivalence, consistency, and transparency. 
90. It was apparent at the informal meeting th at there was not yet a consensus on what the 
Committee should do with respect to regionaliza tion.  The Chair suggested that all Members 
reconsider their concerns and objectives in this ar ea, and that the Committee seek to find a consensus 
through further informal discussions at its next meet ing.  The Chair also suggested that it would be 
helpful to the Committee's deliberations if the I PPC could provide a presenta tion regarding its work 
with regard to pest-free areas and areas of low pest prevalence. 
91. In commenting on the Chairperson's report, th e representative of Canada agreed that 
Committee deliberations would benefit from a briefing by the IPPC representative on IPPC's work on 
pest-free areas.   
92. In response to a question by Honduras, the OIE explained that the concept of 
compartmentalization adopted at 72
nd Regular Session had already begun to be incorporated into the 
OIE's work.  This concept had been included in th e Terrestrial Animal Code in new sections on avian 
influenza and other diseases which were under stud y.  The elaboration of the definition of 
compartmentalization had developed in  parallel with an examination of  potential applications of the 
concept within disease chapters, such as  those relating to avian influenza. 
93. The representatives of Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, 
Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay supported the continue d discussion of this issue within the Committee 
and the possibility of issuing guidelines on regionaliza tion.  Chile reiterated the concerns that the 
standard-setting organizations woul d not be able to address administrative problems in their work on 
this area.  The representative of Peru suggested  that the Committee could issue guidelines for the 
implementation of Article 6 which would not dupl icate OIE or IPPC guidelines, but which would 
outline administrative steps to be taken by coun tries in the application of the concept of 
regionalization. G/SPS/R/34 
Page 16  
 
 94. The representative of Uruguay considered that  the major implementation difficulties were 
excessive time needed to obtain concrete repli es from importers, excessive requests for information, 
excessive red tape and administrative burden.  Si nce these issues were directly related to the 
implementation of the Agreement, Uruguay believe d that the Committee should address these issues 
explicitly.  In addition, Uruguay requested that the IPPC develop verification methods similar to those 
developed by OIE which considered practi cal implementation of these mechanisms.   
(b) Information from Observer Organizations 
95. The representative of OIE noted that one of OIE's original mandates dealt with facilitating 
international trade in animals and animal produc ts through the development of health measures 
intended to make the trade safe.  OIE member countries had requesed that the OIE move towards 
trade facilitating concepts such as zoning, compartm entalization, and the development of guidelines 
on vaccination.  Regarding the potential of OI E developing administrative guidelines, while OIE 
codes did not include administrative guidelines such  as timeframes for particular tasks, timeframes 
were included for technical issues.  The OIE offere d to work with the Committee in the development 
of administrative guidelines in this area based on Members' interest. 
96.  The representative of the IPPC noted that, sin ce the IPPC was an international trade treaty, 
IPPC member activity generally related to plant health  in the context of international trade.  Indeed, 
the new IPPC preambular text included references to international trade.  Including time limits in 
IPPC standards would require the willingness of IPPC member governments and would therefore 
need to be discussed within the ICPM.   
97. The Committee agreed to hold an informal on re gionalization immediately prior to the next 
regular Committee meeting. 
IX. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND COOPERATION 
(a) Information from the Secretariat 
98. The Secretariat described past and future  regional and national workshop activities and 
thanked the Codex, IPPC and OIE for contributin g expertise to these technical assistance activities. 
Since the last meeting, the Secretariat had:  conducted a joint WTO/UNESCWA regional workshop in 
Lebanon for Gulf Countries;  provided training fo r a delegation from the Former Yugoslav Republic 
of Macedonia;  participated in the Inter-Africa n Phytosanitary Council meeting in Dakar;  and 
provided training for a WHO training course on trade and health.  The Secretariat would  undertake five regional and seven national activities in the second half of the year. 
99. Document G/SPS/GEN/486 outlined the operation of  the Standards and Development Facility 
and its work plan for 2004.  The Secretariat w as working to update the STDF technical assistance 
database and noted that it significantly under-reported activities undertaken by donor countries.  The 
STDF business plan had been completed and would be  circulated to donor countries shortly.  The 
business plan was expected to be adopted formally  by the STDF partners on the 9-10 September.  
Furthermore, the Secretariat was compiling a data base on all the technical assistance activities it had 
undertaken since 1994. 
(b) Information from Members 
100. The representative of Canada recalled that Memb ers had raised concerns about ISPM 15 in 
previous Committee meetings.  At the sixth S ession of the Interim Commission on Phytosanitary 
Measures (ICPM), participants recognized the difficulties faced by developing countries in 
implementing ISPM 15.  The Commission had agreed to provide a workshop on the issue, subject to  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 17 
 
 
 the availability of extra funding.  The workshop was tentatively scheduled for next January and, at the 
request of the Chair of the ICPM, Canada encour aged Members to support this important initiative 
either financially or through other means.  Th e representative of Uruguay stated that Uruguay was 
making considerable efforts to implement ISPM 15 and called on Members to lend their support to the 
workshop. 
101. The representative of the United States dr ew attention to document G/SPS/GEN/181/Add.4 
which described the technical assi stance activities provided by the United States for the period July 
2003 to June 2004.  The document highlighted US initiatives in meat safety and regulatory 
enforcement training in Central American count ries, as well as the outreach and assistance programs 
on the implementation of bioterrorism rules. 
102. The representative of Antigua and Barbuda inform ed the Committee of its participation in a 
risk analysis training course funded by USAID and stressed the importance of the workshop in its 
infrastructure development. 
103. The Chair reported that a response from Nicara gua to the technical assistance questionnaire 
could be found in G/SPS/GEN/295/Add.36. 
(c) Information from Observers 
104. The representative of IICA summarized  the "S PS of the Americas" initiative  which had 
supported participation of capital-based experts in  the SPS Committee and had increased significantly 
national implementation of the SPS Agreement in many countries in the Americas (G/SPS/GEN/497).  
Countries that had been the most effective in e nhancing their level of national capacity had taken 
specific actions without making major investments of money and technology.  IICA would continue 
to inform the Committee on IICA's activities. 
105. Many Latin American countries, including An tigua and Barbuda, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, 
Ecuador, Panama, Paraguay, Peru and Uruguay e xpressed their appreciation for IICA's work.  
Members stressed that this initiative contri buted to national coor dination of SPS policy 
implementation efforts and improved the quality of  participation from these countries in Committee 
meetings.  Chile expressed hope that IICA's observer status could become permanent, given the work 
IICA had done to help Members implement the Agreement. 
106. The representative of Djibouti suggested that the technical assistance model developed by 
IICA could be used in technical assistance activiti es in Africa to enhance the implementation of 
technical SPS policies.  He also suggested that it would be useful to have information from the 
Secretariat about past, current, and future techni cal assistance activities in Africa, including impact 
evaluations. 
107. The representative of the OIE summari zed information provided in document 
G/SPS/GEN/500 on OIE's technical assistance activities.  He highlighted the collaborative relationships between OIE and many organizations, including the African Union's Inter-African 
Bureau for Animal Resources, the Arab Organiza tion for Agricultural Development, the Food and 
Drug Administration of the United States, the Jo int FAO/WHO Expert Co mmittee on Food Additives, 
FAO Africa, the Committee of the Americas for Ve terinary Medicines, and the South-east Asian 
Fisheries Development Center.  
108. The representative of the Codex provided a repor t on the FAO/WHO trust fund for enhanced 
participation in Codex, which became operational in March 2003.  Since the 36
th Codex Committee 
on Food Hygiene, 37 countries had been funded to trav el to the venues of various Codex meetings and 
nearly 90 countries would have been funded by this  fund by the end of 2004.  Applications for 2005 G/SPS/R/34 
Page 18  
 
 would be accepted soon.  The submission of these a pplications for the second year would be coupled 
with the evaluation reports submitte d by each beneficiary country.  Some logistical difficulties had 
been identified in the operation of the trust fund .  For example, in sev eral cases more than one 
application had been sent from one country.  The Codex representative suggested that countries should coordinate their application effort among the relevant ministries to generate a single request 
which the Codex contact point would send to the WHO secretariat administering the trust fund.  In 
addition, the Codex had been invited to partic ipate in WTO workshops and technical assistance 
activities.  Many countries had been proposi ng activities to provide technical background for 
developing countries' particip ants in Codex seminars.   
109. The representative of the IPPC described the FAO's capacity building program.  More than 
20 national and regional projects we re on-going, and new requests were  regularly received.  Reports 
on the activities of the IPPC had been provided at the ICPM in April 2004 and could be downloaded from the website (www.ippc.int).  The Phytosanitary Capacity Evaluation tool (PCE) had been 
developed and further extended by Ne w Zealand, in close co-operation with the IPPC secretariat.  The 
PCE had contributed to the establishment of b aseline information for gauging the capacity gaps 
between the current phytosanitary situations and what  would be needed to meet international standard 
requirements (The PCE had been produced as a CD -ROM, and could also be  downloaded from the 
IPPC website).  At the recommendation of the ICPM , the IPPC would conduct regional workshops to 
ensure that Members could fulfil their IPPC reporting obligations using the PCE.   In addition, regional 
workshops will be held before mid-September in francophone Africa, the far East, the Pacific, the 
Caribbean and the Near East, and Latin Americ a to discuss and develop comments on draft IPPC 
standards. 
X. MONITORING THE USE OF INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS 
(a) New Issues 
110. No new issues were reported. 
(b) Issues Previously Raised 
111. The representative of Canada expressed disappoint ment that no issues had been raised under 
the procedure to monitor the use of international st andards.  Canada recalled that in the June 2003 
meeting the Secretariat had suggested a reduction in the deadline for iden tifying issues from 30 days 
to 10 days, and suggested that the Committee consider  if this would allow Members to better benefit 
from this procedure.  The representative of the United States supported a short time-frame for 
notification of items for this agenda item a nd commented that having the same deadlines for 
submitting all items for the agenda would be useful.  He proposed that this issue be discussed in the 
context of the upcoming Review. 
112. The Chair proposed that the Committee consider th is suggestion at its ne xt meeting or in the 
context of the Review. 
(c) Sixth annual report (G/SPS/W/146) 
113. The Committee adopted the sixth annual report modified as to include reference to 
discussions at the current meeting.  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 19 
 
 
 XI. MATTERS OF INTEREST ARISING FROM THE WORK OF OBSERVER 
ORGANIZATIONS 
(a) Information from Codex (G/SPS/GEN/496) 
114. The representative of Codex drew attention to the Codex Commission's decision to meet 
annually.  The June 2004 meeting would cover adoption of draft standards at Step 8 and the 
preliminary adoption of draft standards at Step 5.   Since the Committee would also consider proposed 
amendments to the Rules of Procedure of C odex, the representative encouraged the active 
participation of WTO Members in this meeting.   
(b) Information from (G/SPS/GEN/494) 
115. The representative of the International Regiona l Organisation for Plant and Animal Health 
(OIRSA) highlighted OIRSA's recent capacity building activities including: 
• A regional seminar in Guatemala on quality gua rantee of food products, supported by the 
government of Spain; 
• A capacity building course in El Salvador and Nicaragua on food safety; 
• A Mexican post-graduate degree programme in th e field risk of analysis and evaluation of 
health services in the field; 
• A joint FAO-OIRSA project to strengthen capacity of member countries; and 
(c) Information from OIE (G/SPS/GEN/501) 
116. The representative of the OIE summa rized the main points from the 72nd General Session of 
the OIE, held in June 2004.  Two main techni cal issues had been discussed:  emerging and re-
emerging zoonoses, and animal identification and traceability.  The Animal Production and Food Safety working group encouraged close collabora tion between OIE and Codex on food safety issues 
through OIE participation in Codex Committee meet ings, and OIE membership in the working group 
on food safety.  The General Session had adopted a vari ety of new terrestrial animal health standards 
and animal welfare standards.  Productive meeti ngs had been held to discuss the integration of 
veterinary para-professionals, such as animal heal th technicians and livestock officers, into OIE 
activities, particularly in Africa.  Countries had adopted the single list of OIE diseases, replacing the traditional List A and List B diseases, including new criteria for the listing of diseases.  The Session had also revised the FMD chapter, modified the BSE chapter, and adopted, "under study", a text on Avian Influenza pending further work on surveillan ce procedures and risks from poultry meat and 
eggs.  Amendments had been ma de to Aquatic Animal Code to  improve harmonization with the 
Terrestrial Animal Code.  The OIE Committee had discu ssed and adopted lists of countries, or zones, 
free from the four diseases. 
(d) Information from FAO (G/SPS/GEN/504) 
117. The representative of FAO reported on activities of  FAO's animal health service, including a 
wide range of activities related to infectious and parasitic animal diseases, and inter-organizational 
activities.  The FAO and OIE had signed an agr eement to combat transboundary diseases, GF-TADs 
(Global Framework for the Progressive Control of Transboundary Animal Diseases), which would be 
implemented through ad hoc sub-regional and region al organizations.  FAO and OIE, in collaboration 
with WHO, would also establish a comprehensive sy stem for the analysis of epidemiological data, 
forecasting and warning, called the GLEWS (Gl obal Early Warning System), for the zoonotic G/SPS/R/34 
Page 20  
 
 diseases.  The FAO, in close collaboration with th e OIE and the WHO, had provided determined and 
rapid assistance to the countries affected by Avian Influenza and to the countries at risk, and these 
agencies would continue to study the epidemiology , socio-economic effects and industry recovery 
requirements of this disease. 
(e) Information from IICA (GEN/SPS/GEN/496) 
118. The representative of IICA highlighted implemen tation of the Initiative for the Americas on 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which had focused on the strengthening of institutions, the 
development of leadership and coordination between  public and private sector institutions.  The IICA 
had also developed an instrument which was intende d to secure high standards in official agricultural 
health and food safety services taking into account c ountries' current requirements.  The instrument 
would enable the public and private sectors to develop a common vision and would facilitate the 
establishment of a joint strategy to strengthen official services. 
(f) Information from WHO 
119. The representative of WHO indicated that the second Global Food Safety Forum would take 
place in October 2004 in Bangkok.  Mo re information could be found at 
http://www.foodsafetyforum.org/global2.  The Food Safety Emergency Networ k had been developed 
to respond to natural, accidental and intentional c ontamination of food.  Two joint FAO/WHO expert 
meetings had issued calls for data:  the joint F AO/IOC/WHO ad hoc expert consultation on biotoxins 
in molluscan bivalves (http://www.who.int/foodsafet y/chem/meetings/en/call.pdf) and the JEFCA 64
th 
meeting on food additives and contaminants (http://www.who.int/ipcs/food/jecfa/en/call64.pdf).  In addition, the report of an FAO/WHO expert meeti ng on micro-organisms in powdered infant formula 
in February 2004 was available at http://www.who. int/foodsafety/publications/micro/feb2004/en.  The 
Codex drafting group would review th e code of hygienic practice for f ood for infant formula, consider 
the risk assessment procedures generated by this expert meeting and send their recommendations to 
the 37
th session of the Codex Committee on Food Hygiene.   
(g) Information from IPPC 
120. The representative of the IPPC reported that the 6th Interim Commission of Phytosanitary 
Measures (ICPM) had met in April 2004 and adopted:  (1) guidelines for phytosanitary import regulatory systems;  (2)  pest risk analysis (P RA) for regulated non-quarantine pests;  and (3) the 
supplement to the PRA for quarantine pests which dealt with PRA for Living Modified Organisms 
(LMOs).   
121. The ICPM had also agreed on the organization of a workshop on the practical application of 
ISPM 15 given the difficulties many delegations ha d in implementing this standard.  The ICPM 
expected a lower level of activity for the next  period given uncertainty that funding would be 
maintained;  and acknowledged contributions to the IPPC trust fund to enhance the participation of 
developing countries in standard setting activities.  In addition, the ICPM updated its strategic plan 
and business plan, including the adoption of a fast -track standard setting process which included the 
use of technical panels;  and adopted a Memora ndum of Co-operation between the IPPC and CBD 
secretariats and undertook preliminary discussions of  potential joint work on invasive species and 
LMOs.  Six standards were being sent for consultation, with a deadline for comments 
30 September 2004.  All of these would be availabl e on the International Phytosanitary Portal, as 
would templates for comment submissions.  Memb ers and other organizations, including the SPS 
Committee, had been invited to submit suggestions for future standards before 1 October 2004.    G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 21 
 
 
 (h) Information from the International Trade Centre (ITC) 
122. The WTO Secretariat recalled that the joint project between the ITC and the Commonwealth 
Secretariat concerning the difficulties developing countries faced in standa rds implementation had 
been completed and distributed to WTO Members'  national SPS enquiry points and TBT enquiry 
points.  The Spanish version of this report a nd accompanying studies were now available and the 
French version of these documents  would be available soon.   
XII. REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF TH E SPS AGREEMENT – CONSIDERATION 
OF PROCEDURES FOR THE REVIEW 
123. The Chair recalled that at the Fourth Session of  the Ministerial Conference in 2001, Ministers 
instructed the Committee to review the operation an d implementation of the SPS Agreement at least 
once every four years, pursuant to the provisions of Article 12.7 of the Agreement.  The report of the 
next Review should be prepared for the Sixth Session of the Ministerial Conference.  The Committee considered and adopted the procedures and ti meline for the Review of the SPS Agreement 
(G/SPS/32).  In the discussion of the recommended timeline for the Review process, many Members 
recognized that additional meetings might be necessa ry in order to complete the Review agenda. 
124. The Committee also discussed the background doc ument which the Secretariat had prepared 
(JOB(04)/71).  The document described the Committee's work since 1999 on consistency, 
equivalence, transparency, monitoring of interna tional standards, technical assistance, special and 
differential treatment, regionalization, monitoring im plementation of the agreement, co-operation with 
international standard setting or ganizations, and dispute settlement activities.  The Secretariat 
suggested that after incorporating Members' s uggestions and comments th is document could be 
revised and produced as a formal document. 
125. The representative of Mexico emphasized the need to limit the list of issues for consideration 
in the review process from among the full set issues described in JOB(04)/71.  The representative of 
New Zealand supported this view, stressing the need to set realistic ambitions for the Review given 
the desired deadline for finalizing the Review in time for the Ministerial meeting in fall 2005.  
126. The representative of Mexico also requested that the Secretariat develop a list of documents 
submitted by Members on substantive issues si nce 1999 as background for the Review.  This 
information would be useful to Members in thei r development of recommendations.  He further 
recommended that documents related to the Review should be made available in the three official 
WTO languages more or less at the same time. 
XIII.  OBSERVERS – REQUESTS FOR OBSERVER STATUS 
127. The Committee agreed to invite the organizati ons with current ad hoc observer status to 
participate in the next meeting of the Co mmittee (ACP Group, EFTA, IICA, OECD, OIRSA and 
SELA).  The Committee also invited all interested  observer organizations to participate in the 
informal meetings to be held in conn ection with the next Committee meeting. 
128. The Committee took no decision regarding the re quests for observer status from the Office 
International de la Vigne et du Vin (OIV), the Asian and Pacific Coconut Community (APCC), and 
the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD).  G/SPS/R/34 
Page 22  
 
 XIV.  OTHER BUSINESS 
Paraguay - Eradication of foot and mouth disease (G/SPS/GEN/505) 
129. The representative of Paraguay provided details of Paraguay's efforts to eradicate FMD since 
1992.  Most recently, towards the end of 2002 and in mid 2003, two occurrences of foot-and-mouth disease in the country had led to the loss of status as an "FMD free country with vaccination".  Since 
this outbreak, Paraguay had instituted a wide range of control measures and there had been no further 
outbreaks of the disease, nor detection of FMD virus within the country.  In the coming months, a report would be submitted to the OIE, and at the 200 5 OIE meeting, Paraguay expected to be able to 
regain its certification as "free of foot-and-mouth disease with vaccination". 
130. The representative of Brazil congratulated Paraguay on efforts in this area.  Brazil and 
Paraguay had worked together to eradicate this disease in the South American region. 
Argentina – Determination of an area free from parasites of bees. 
131. The representative of Argentina reported on work within Argentina to determine the absence 
of the bee parasites Tropilaelaps and 
Aethina tumida  (or small hive beetle).  During January and 
March 2004, SENASA surveyed the sanitary situa tion of these parasites in the province of 
Buenos Aires.  Out of the 7020 hives inspected, no clin ical signs of infestation had been found.  Thus, 
the representative confirmed the absence of these two parasites in this area, which represented 60 per 
cent of the national production (1.7 million beehives).  
Peru – Situation regarding FMD 
132. The representative of reported that in the past  three years and eight months, no disease focus 
had been observed.  Currently 97 per cent of the national territory was declared free of FMD with 
vaccination.  In one of the areas free with vaccination, the monitoring system had observed eight foci 
in the Lima department of the type O virus in June  2004.  This information had been provided to the 
OIE on 26 June 2004.  The last FMD focus in Peru had been observed in October 2004;  virus type O had been last observed in 1997.  The government had adopted comprehensive sanitary measures to control and eradicate the FMD virus. 
133. In response to a query by the representatives of Antigua and Barbudo about the disposal of 
infected FMD animals, the representative of Peru in dicated that carcasses of animals which had tested 
positive had been incinerated and the remains had been buried. 
Chile – Request for update on EC measures on fish meal 
134. The representative of Chile noted that th e European Communities was reviewing the 
restrictive measures on fishmeal in cattle feed.  Li fting the ban would require the development of a 
diagnostic test which would assure all EC member St ates that detection of contamination of fishmeal 
with bone- or meat-meal would be possible.  Ch ile had received information that the diagnostic 
method had been standardized and meetings of the Food Chain and Animal Health Committee in 
September 2004 would vote on lifting the ban.  Due to the high impact this ban had on Chile's feed 
production systems, the representative requested fu rther information concerning the possible date 
when the ban would be lifted. 
135. The representative of Peru also requested  a written explanation from the European 
Communities.  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 23 
 
 
 136. The representative of the European Communities responded that results of the test were 
pending and that a written reply would be made av ailable after the Food Chain and Animal Health 
Committee meeting in September 2004.   
Colombia – Ocratoxin A in Coffee 
137. The representative of Colombia recalled that Colombia had requested written comments from 
the European Communities on the setting of maximum levels of ocratoxin A in Coffee in June 2003 
(G/SPS/GEN/434).  The European Communities had recently submitted comments in writing (G/SPS/GEN/490) to Colombia, but Colombia had not  had sufficient time to prepare a response.  
Colombian authorities had had meetings with Ge rman and EC officials concerning Germany's 
measures on ocratoxin in coffee and whether these might  be in violation of the MFN principle.  The 
European Communities had indicated that a simila r measure might be adopted related for green 
coffee.  The representative expressed concern about the effects of these measures on the marketing of Colombian coffee in Europe.   
138. The representatives of Brazil, Cuba, Ecuador and Peru echoed the concerns of Colombia.  The 
representative of Brazil sought clarification con cerning why Germany established MRL for ocratoxin 
A in coffee if no MRL had been estab lished by the European Communities. 
139. The representative of the Europ ean Communities commented that the answers to Colombia's 
concern and Brazil's particular question were included in documen t G/SPS/GEN/490.  Consultation of 
scientific experts had recently been concluded a nd a document from this meeting was being prepared, 
including suggested limits for a wide range of food  products on the basis of admissible daily intake 
and the level of consumption in the European Communities.  This proposal would probably be 
notified to the Committee by early September and there would be a sixty day period for comments.   
XV. DATE AND AGENDA OF NEXT MEETING 
140. The Committee agreed on the following tentativ e calendar for Committee meetings in 2005. 
7-8 March   Informals 
9-10 March  SPS Committee meeting 
 
27-28 June  Informals 
29-30 June  SPS Committee meeting 
 
24-25 October  Informals 
26-27 October  SPS Committee meeting 
 
141. The next regular meeting of the Committee was tentatively scheduled for 27-28 October 
2004, with informal meetings scheduled for 25-26 October .  Informal meetings would be held on 
special and differential treatment, regionalizatio n and on the Review of the Agreement.  The 
Committee agreed on the following provisional agenda for its next meeting:  
AGENDA FOR MEETING OF 27-28 OCTOBER 2004 
 
 1. Proposed agenda 
 2. Activities of Members 
 3. Specific trade concerns G/SPS/R/34 
Page 24  
 
  (a) New issues 
 (b) Issues previously raised 
• Information on resolution of issues in G/SPS/GEN/204/Rev.4 
  (c) Consideration of specific notifications received 
 4. Operation of transparency provisions 
 5. Implementation of special and differential treatment  6 Equivalence – Article 4 
  (a) Information from Members on their experiences 
  (b) Information from rele vant observer organizations 
 7. Pest- and Disease-free areas – Article 6  8. Technical assistance and cooperation  9. Monitoring of the use of international standards 
  (a) New issues 
  (b) Issues previously raised 
 10. Review of the operation of the SPS Agreement  
 11. Transitional review under Paragraph 18 of the Protocol of Accession of the People's 
Republic of China 
 12. Matters of interest arising fro m the work of observer organizations 
 13. Observers - Requests for observer status  14. Chairperson's annual report to the Council for Trade in Goods  
 15. Other business 
 16. Date and agenda of next meeting 
142. The following deadlines are rele vant for the next meeting: 
(i) Submission of issues to be considered during the Review and
 written comments on 
the background paper by the Secretariat:  30 July 2004 . 
(ii) For identifying new issues for consideration under the monitoring procedure:  
27 September 2004 . 
(iii) For submission of questions to China regarding implementation of the SPS 
Agreement:  27 September 2004 . 
(iv) For comments on the elaboration of procedures for transparency of S&D 
(G/SPS/W/132/Rev.3):  27 September 2004 .  G/SPS/R/34 
 Page 25 
 
 
 (v) Submission of papers on issues for consideration during the Review and  identification 
of any further issues for consideration during the Review:  12 October 2004 . 
(vi) For requesting that items be put on the agenda:  14 October 2004 . 
(vii) For the distribution of the airgram:  15 October 2004 . 
(viii) Chairperson's proposal of the order in whic h issues on the Review are to be addressed 
and circulation of revised background document by Secretariat:  15 October 2004 . 
 
__________