Not all members of the Pact impose the additional duties on yellow corn and linked products. Importers of pet food should not be driven out of any FTAA market by high or volatile tariffs. Removal of requirement for proprietary information as part of product registration. Some FTAA member countries demand formula information in order to register pet food products for import. Detailed recipe and production information is not necessary to establish product safety.
Industry respects the right of Governments to inquire after specific aspects of any food product.
However, detailed formula and production information is proprietary and should not be required as a prerequisite for market access. Harmonization of product registration and health certificate requirements Harmonization of product registration and health certificate requirements will help to facilitate the movement of pet food products between and among FTAA members. A primary objective in the FTAA should be to standardize registration documents for imported products. Given the wide distribution of manufacturing plants throughout the region, pet food is an ideal category in which to launch such an initiative among all FTAA member countries. In addition, FTAA members should institute automatic or simplified registration procedures for products that are already fully registered with another FTAA government.