WORLD TRADE
ORGANIZATIONG/SPS/GEN/335
26 June 2002
(02-3545)
Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures Original:  English
JOINT COMSEC/ITC PROJECT ON CASE STUDIES TO DETERMINE TECHNICAL
ASSISTANCE NEEDS IN THE AREAS OF TBT AND SPS
S.K. Gujadhur
Senior Adviser on Export Quality Management
ITC
This document was extracted from a Power Point slide presentation.
Background
• Problems faced by developing countries
- participating in international standards activities
- meeting technical regulations, standards and SPS measures in export markets
••  Wide differences in development of standardisation and conformity assessment infrastructure
• Assessment of the needs for technical assistance in standardization and conformity assessment
with respect to TBT and SPS
Modalities
• Background paper prior to actual case studies:
- describing the procedures/practices followed for the elaboration of international standards
- the elements to be covered in the case studies
• Case studies by six consultants, three for TBT and three for SPS in September/October 2001
• Countries covered: Kenya, Mauritius, Uganda, Namibia, Jamaica and Malaysia
Observations concerning implementation of SPS obligations/rights
• Difficulties for developing countries
- limited human and financial resources to meet obligations and take advantage of rights
- limited ability for effective participation in international standardization- propensity for some developed countries to set conditions above international standards for 
market accessG/SPS/GEN/335
Page 2
• Wide use of CODEX and OIE Standards
--  Difficulty to follow the international norm on pest risk analysis
• Effective SPS regimes maintained for key health risks
• SPS barriers encountered by all countries for export
• Basic institutions for transparency obligations mostly in place
• Ineffective structures/practices to disseminate information from enquiry points to stakeholders
• Administrative structures for identification of problems faced by exporters generally
lacking/bureaucratic
• Sporadic attendance at SPS Committee meetings
General considerations concerning needs for technical assistance (TA)
• TA needs specific to each country, not to bridge the gap between developed and developing
countries
• Amount of TA available < Aggregate value of worthwhile projects
• Available TA targeted to most cost effective uses, reducing/avoiding waste
••  Apparent fragmentation of previous TA
••  Need to plan and prioritise TA
Examples of appropriate technical assistance (TA)
• Specific Product TA
- Development of an export market access strategy, identification of SPS barriers and TA to
overcome them
• Capacity Building TA
--  Development of an SPS capacity database
- Developing a framework to assist in setting TA priorities- Tertiary education related
- Establishment/strengthening of SPS Enquiry Points
- Encouraging the provision of tangible TA under Article 9 of the SPS Agreement
- Reviewing the modus operandi of international standards organisations
- Strengthening regional capacity for:
/g33 non routine (i.e. reference) testing
/g33 record keeping activities
/g33 challenging specific measures applied over/above international standards by some
importing countriesG/SPS/GEN/335
Page 3
- Mentoring and training of trainers in WTO SPS issues and in technical areas such as
HACCP and pest risk analysis
- Increasing transparency under the SPS Agreement
- Establishment of a trust fund
- Dispute settlement mechanisms
Outputs
Preparation by COMSEC and ITC
• For focussed technical assistance for capacity building at national level
• Publication of a joint COMSEC/ITC publication on TBT and SPS
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