WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/433
22 October 2003
(03-5571)
Committee on Sanitary and
Phytosanitary MeasuresOriginal:  Spanish
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE REGIONALIZATION PRINCIPLE
Communication by Argentina
A. INTRODUCTION
1. Communications G/SPS/GEN/129, G/SPS/W/381 and G/SPS/GEN/388 outline the
difficulties facing an exporting Member that initiates a bilateral procedure for recognition of pest- or
disease-free areas or areas of low pest or di sease prevalence.  At the SPS Committee meeting in
June 2003, representatives of developing countries requested that the Committee continue to deal withthis matter, so that agreement could be reached on the general criteria for effective implementation of
the regionalization principle set out in Article 6 of the SPS Agreement.  The Chairman accordingly
invited Members to submit their experiences on regionalization to the Secretariat by the end of
September, in order to permit a more focussed discussion at the next meeting.
1
2. In response to that request, two experiences with recognition of plant pest-free areas
(specifically, citrus canker - Xanthomonas axonopodis) are described below.  The feature common to
both experiences is that they concern a request for recognition of Argentina's Northwest region as free
from citrus canker.  It is interesting to note that the procedures for regionalization of an identical plant
pest led, in the first case, to recognition of the region's pest-free status without causing any disruption
of trade whereas, in the second, the region was never able to commence trade under the conditions
applying to a pest-free area.
B. POSITIVE EXPERIENCE
3. In the first case, the distinctive feature is that although the importing Member (hereinafter
referred to as "X") changed its citrus import requirements on several occasions, this did not call into
question the recognition of pest-free status nor  did it affect the normal course of trade.
4. In 1991, Argentina officially declared the provinces of Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán and Catamarca
(Northwest Argentina) as free from citrus canker.
(i) In 1992, the Secretariat of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food (SAGyP)
(acting through the Argentine Plant Health and Quality Institute - IASCAV), the
provincial governments of Salta, Jujuy, Catamarca and Tucumán and the AFINOA
(Northwest Argentina Plant Health Association, which includes the private sector)
established the CORENOA (Northwest Argentina Regional Committee).
(ii) One of the plant health programmes conducted under CORENOA leadership is
known as the "Phytosanitary Procedure for th e Export of Citrus Fruit from Northwest
Argentina to the EU".
                                                     
1 G/SPS/R/30, paragraph 137.G/SPS/GEN/433
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(iii) In 1993, Member "X", which had been importing citrus fruit from Argentina for the
past 20 years, decided, as a result of internal organizational changes, to adopt a
standard reinforcing citrus import regulations, one of which is the requirement of
Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. citri -free status .
(iv) In 1993, the COSAVE (South Cone Plant Health Committee) recognized the
Argentine provinces of Jujuy, Salta, Tucumán and Catamarca (Northwest Argentina)
as citrus canker-free.
(v) Argentina sent and exchanged a vast amount of information with Member "X"
regarding both the situation in Northwest Argentina and the development of the
certification system in Northeast Argentina.
(vi) Negotiations started with a view to obtaining recognition of a different status for each
of Argentina's two production areas – one of them free of the disease (NorthwestArgentina) and the other affected by the disease (Northeast Argentina).
(vii) Negotiations continued between the two Members while Argentina differentiated
between the two regions and implemented plant health safety measures.
(viii) In 1998, Member "X" published a standard recognizing Northwest Argentina as free
from Xanthomonas campestris  (all the strains pathogenic to Citrus ).
(ix) In September 2001, Member "X" inspected Argentina's two citrus producing regions
(Northwest and Northeast) in order to evaluate the sanitary guarantees offered by
Argentina for citrus exports to "X".
(x) Member "X" drew up a draft inspection report, on which Argentina conveyed its
comments and observations.
(xi) In June 2002, Member "X" published the final report on the September 2001 mission
to Argentina (including Argentina's comments) on the Internet.  Although Member
"X" made a few recommendations, the report clearly shows that the inspectors
deemed the guarantees afforded by Argentina for exports from the Northwest and the
Northeast to be sufficient.
5. Although Member "X" twice modified its import requirements, it never ceased to recognize
the differences in status of the regions concerned, nor was there any disruption in the flow of goods
from the two regions, while plant health safety measures were being reinforced.
C. 
NEGATIVE EXPERIENCE
6. In 1994, Argentina made its very first regionalization request to Member "Y" in order to
begin exporting citrus fruit from the Northwest.
(i) In 1995, Member "Y" conducted a pest risk analysis (PRA) of fresh citrus fruit from
Northwest Argentina and determined the pests of quarantine concern.
(ii) In 1996, Argentina conveyed its comments on the PRA and scheduled a visit to the
Northwest in order to assess the region's citrus canker-free status.G/SPS/GEN/433
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(iii) In 1998, Argentina issued a protocol and rule s relating to the status of the Northwest
as a citrus canker-free area.  That same year a technical mission from Member "Y"'s
Health Service went to Northwest Argentina in order to verify its pest-free status.
(iv) In 1999, Member "Y" recognized Northwest Argentina as free from citrus canker on
the basis of the information received and the above visit.
(v) In 1999, as a result of recognition being granted, Argentina drew up a "Work Plan for
the export of fresh lemons ( Citrus limon ) from Northwest Argentina" and a "Work
Plan for the export of fresh oranges ( Citrus sinensis) and grapefruit ( Citrus paradisi )
from Northwest Argentina".
(vi) Member "Y" has been in possession of the Work Plans since 1999, and up until early
2002, during which time Argentina maintained the Northwest's canker-free status,
exports remained prohibited, despite Argentina's repeated representations.
D. FINAL COMMENTS
7. Argentina views effective implementation of the regionalization principle as a vital tool in
achieving flexibility in international trade and in preventing the discretionary adoption and
implementation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
8. The positive experience is a case of historically exported goods which, despite the importing
Member having modified its import requirements on several occasions, never once saw any disruption
in the flow of trade in goods from the exporting country.
9. The negative experience raises the following two issues:
(i) The procedure for recognition by the importing party of the sanitary status of the zone
for which regionalization was sought by  the exporting party was unduly slow
(five years) without any technical justification for the delay, since the regional
reference body (COSAVE-FAO) had already recognized the status of Northwest
Argentina.
(ii) Despite the technical work that led to the validation of the sanitary status of
Northwest Argentina, bureaucratic hurdles (failure to approve the Work Plan) createdan obstacle to trade in practice, since the recognition granted was not put into effect.
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