WORLD TRADE G/SPS/GN/14
4April 1997
ORGANIZATION(97-1403)
Original: Spanish Committee onSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures
REPLY TOACONSULTATION BYTHE UNITED STATES
CONCERNING PHYTOSANITARY REQUIREMENTS
FOR WHEAT AND FRUIT
Statement Made byChile attheMeeting of
19-20 March 1997
OneofChile'shighest priorities overtheyears hasbeentoprotect thehealth ofitsforests
andagricultural sector. Tothatendithaseffected large-scale investments andhasgone afarway
insafeguarding andenhancing itsachievements inthatregard.
Furthermore, Chile hasendeavoured tocomply meticulously withtheAgreement onthe
Application ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures oftheWorld Trade Organization byestablishing
sanitary requirements onascientific basis andusing riskanalysis methods, thusmaking itpossible
todetermine atalltimes theacceptable levelofriskasanimporting country andtoprovide security
andassurance asanexporting country.
Wewillnowdealwiththespecific points raised bythedelegation oftheUnited States. The
background material referred tocomes fromthelastmeeting heldinSantiago between theAgricultural
andLivestock Service, Ministry ofAgriculture (SAG) andtherepresentation oftheUSDepartment
ofAgriculture/Animal andPlant Health Inspection Service (USDA/APHIS) inChile, on
10February 1997.
I. WHEAT
InMarch 1996, theUnited States reported thepresence ofthefungus Karnal bunt(Tilletia
indica ).Considering thatforChile thisisanA.1quarantine pest(notpresent inthecountry), USDA
wasrequested tocertify consignments aspest-free, which would make itpossible tocontinue exporting
wheat from theUnited States toChile.
AtthattimeUSDA indicated thatitcould notcertify consignments asbeing freeofthefungus
butcould onlycertify thatthewheat came from anareainwhich Karnal bunthasnotbeenknown
tooccur.
Inthelightofsurveys carried outbyUSDA in1996andbased onthenewinformation available,
Chile imposed thecondition, inFebruary thisyear,thatwheat imports maybeshipped fromtheUnited
States north-west (thestates ofOregon andWashington) onlyifthewheat comes from states found
tobefreeofthefungus andisaccompanied bycertificates oflaboratory testsconducted byprivate
entities approved byUSDA thatthefungus isnotpresent.
Attheabove-mentioned meeting, theUSDA/APHIS representation inChile accepted the
conditions laiddown bySAG, andfurther undertook toreport anychanges inthegeographical
distribution ofthefungus onitsterritory.G/SPS/GN/14
Page2
Itisimportant topoint outthattheUnited States hasnotasked Chile torecognise areas free
oftheKarnal buntfungus.
II. FRUIT
TheUnited States USDA asked SAG inChile tostatetheimport requirements inregard to
alistoffruits from theUnited States drawn upbyUSDA itself.
Thefruits concerned arelemons (California), grapefruit (California), Kiwi (California),
raspberries (from allstates), apples andpears (California, Washington andOregon), grapes (California)
andoranges (California).
Foreachrequest therelevant riskanalysis hadtobecarried out,andtheseweredoneasUSDA
supplied therelevant information.
Furthermore, USDA requested thatthestateofCalifornia berecognized asfreeofthefruit
fly(Ceratitis capitata andAnastrepha fraterculus ),andafterthepertinent analysis andavisitbyexperts,
SAGrecognized thestatus ofpest-free area. Asaresult ofthelastmeeting withtheaforementioned
technical services, itwasagreed thatSAGwould submit aFruitFlyDetection Protocol andEmergency
Planforstudy byUSDA. TheProtocol anditsaccompanying Planwillbemade available shortly.
ThesedevelopmentswillfacilitateimportproceduresfortheproductslistedbytheUnitedStates.
Accordingly, thefollowing products willbenefit oncethefruitflyProtocol isimplemented: kiwis
andgrapes willrequire asingle inspection; apples andpears willhavetoundergo anadditional cold
treatment forRagholetis pomonella ;forlemons andgrapefruits there must beasystem ofperiodic
reporting onthestatus ofthebacteria thatcause citrus canker; asregards oranges, APHIS willsupply
information concerning mitigatory measures tocontrol theAmyelois transitella insect. These pests
areofquarantine concern toChile, andtheconditions havetherefore beendrawn upwiththeappropriate
scientific justification andinkeeping withtheguidelines oftheWTO Agreement ontheApplication
ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures.
Asregards raspberries, imports areauthorized fromallstates intheUnited States onthesole
condition thattheyareinspected.
III. GENERAL CONCLUSIONS
Inregard tothespecific issueraised bytheUnited States expressing concern overtherestrictions
being applied byChile towheat andfruitimports andstating thatChile hasneither recognized the
concept ofpest-free areas norusedother relevant international phytosanitary guidelines, Chile states
thefollowing:
Pestanddisease-free zones
- Asregards wheat, theUnited States hasnotrequested Chile torecognize areas free
oftheTilletia indica .
- Asregards fruit, theUnited States didrequest Chile torecognize thestateofCalifornia
asanareafreeofthefruitfliesmentioned. After riskanalyses andavisitbyexperts,
Chile recognized California asapest-free area.
Theforegoing illustrates compliance withArticle 6oftheWTO Agreement ontheApplication
ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures, concerning adaptation toregional conditions.G/SPS/GN/14
Page3
Useofother relevant international phytosanitary guidelines
TheUnited States didnotindicate exactly theother international phytosanitary guidelines to
which itwasreferring. Nevertheless, asemerges fromthebackground material under reference, Chile
hascarried outriskanalyses inadynamic manner, updating them asinformation wasreceived from
USDA. Thiswasdoneonsolidbases andwithscientific justification, inkeeping withtheinternational
regulations deriving fromtheInternational PlantProtection Convention (IPPC) oftheFAOandpursuant
totheguidelines oftheAgreement ontheApplication ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures ofWTO.
With reference tothislatter Agreement, Chile hasacted inpursuance ofArticle 2(Basic Rights and
Obligations), Article 3(Harmonization) andArticle 5(Assessment ofRiskandDetermination ofthe
Appropriate Level ofSanitary orPhytosanitary Protection).
IV. SUGGESTEDPROCEDUREFORSANITARYANDPHYTOSANITARYCONSULTATIONS
Finally, itshould bepointed outthatprogress andfollow-up arepossible through theofficial
technical services ofbothcountries, aswasthecaseinpastyears. Nevertheless, in1995USDA/APHIS
unilaterally decided todiscontinue theannual technical meetings oftheofficial health services ofboth
countries, although theywould havemade itpossible toclear updirectly theconcerns raised.
TheChilean technical authorities areprepared toresume these bilateral technical meetings in
order toachieve clarity andmove ahead inthedirection indicated bytheAgreement ontheApplication
ofSanitary andPhytosanitary Measures oftheWTO.