(1) Pursuant to article I, section 8, clause 3 of 
the Constitution of the United States, Congress has 
the authority to establish negotiating objectives for 
the United States for agreements related to agricul-
tural trade. 
(2) From 2008 to 2010, the value of United 
States agricultural exports averaged nearly $107 bil-
lion annually. Compared to 1998 to 2000, when the 
total 
value 
of 
agricultural 
exports 
averaged 
$51,000,000,000 annually, United States agricul-
tural exports have more than doubled in past ten 
years. 
(3) The Department of Agriculture’s Economic 
Research Service reports that each $1,000,000,000 
in United States agricultural exports supports ap-
proximately 8,400 jobs. The Economic Research 
Service further reports that United States agricul-
tural exports supported nearly 830,000 full-time 
American jobs both on and off-farm in 2009. 
(4) Even as the importance of agricultural ex-
ports to the United States economy grows, there are 
continued reports that non science-based sanitary 
and phytosanitary measures are restricting trade, 
acting as non-tariff barriers to trade. The elimi-
nation and reduction of unwarranted sanitary and 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
phytosanitary barriers to trade will increase United 
States agricultural exports and jobs. 
(5) Sanitary and phytosanitary measures are 
those designed ‘‘to protect human, animal or plant 
life or health from risks’’ arising from additives, 
contaminants, pests, toxins, diseases, or disease-car-
rying and causing organisms in foods, beverages, 
feedstuffs, 
animals, 
or 
plants. 
Sanitary 
and 
phytosanitary measures can take such forms as spe-
cific product or processing standards, requirements 
for products to be produced in disease-free areas, 
quarantine regulations, certification or inspection 
procedures, sampling and testing requirements, 
health-related labeling measures, maximum permis-
sible pesticide residue levels, and prohibitions on cer-
tain food additives. 
(6) There are currently 37 active disputes in-
volving sanitary and phytosanitary measures being 
argued within the World Trade Organization (WTO) 
between Member countries. These cases have been 
invoked under the WTO Agreement on the Applica-
tion of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures. 
(7) While the Agreement on the Application of 
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, to which all 
WTO Member countries are parties, explicitly recog-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
nizes the rights of each country to take their own 
measures, they must be science-based and applied 
only to the extent necessary to protect human, ani-
mal or plant health, and cannot be arbitrary or used 
to unjustifiably discriminate domestically or between 
trading partners. Member countries are also encour-
aged to observe established and recognized inter-
national standards. Improper use of measures can 
create substantial, if not complete, barriers to 
United States exports when they are disguised bar-
riers to trade, are not supported by science, or are 
otherwise unwarranted. 
(8) In 2010, a United States interagency group 
led by the Department of Agriculture’s Foreign Ag-
ricultural Service, reviewed more than 1,000 notifi-
cations from 50 countries as required under the 
Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and 
Phytosanitary Measures. The United States Govern-
ment commented on 173 proposed or in-force sani-
tary and phytosanitary measures. Nearly one-half of 
the comments were measures regarding processed 
products, one-third addressed requirements for live 
animals and fish (and their products, including dairy 
products); and almost one-quarter were for measures 
that introduced new standards or entry requirements 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
for plants, bulk commodities (including those made 
with biotechnology), and horticultural products. 
(9) Each year, the United States Trade Rep-
resentative reports that non science-based sanitary 
and phytosanitary trade barriers continue to threat-
en, constrain, or block United States agricultural ex-
ports. 
(10) A Department of Agriculture study of the 
impact of foreign technical trade barriers on United 
States agricultural exports reported the presence of 
‘‘questionable technical barriers’’ in more than 60 
countries affecting trade in more than 300 agricul-
tural products, valued at an estimated $5 billion of 
United States agricultural, forestry, and fishery ex-
ports using 1996 data, accounting for about 7 per-
cent of total agricultural exports during that year. 
Although more recent formal estimates of United 
States agricultural trade effects are not available, 
the United States Trade Representative continues to 
assert: ‘‘[Sanitary and phytosanitary] trade barriers 
prevent U.S. producers from shipping hundreds of 
millions of dollars worth of goods, hurting farms and 
small businesses’’. 
(11) The improper use of sanitary and 
phytosanitary trade barriers to trade can be reduced 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
through achieving and implementing agreements 
that provide for enhanced harmonization, trans-
parency, equivalency, improved regulatory practices, 
and more efficient and effective dispute settlement. 
The elimination and reduction in use of such bar-
riers to trade will strengthen the international trad-
ing system by providing certainty, predictability, and 
fair treatment. 
(12) The Agreement on the Application of Sani-
tary and Phytosanitary Measures has proven valu-
able to United States exporters, but experience has 
exposed certain inadequacies in its rules. 
(13) Accordingly, as the United States prepares 
for future trade agreements, the Administration 
must prioritize further strengthening of rules on 
sanitary and phytosanitary measures. 
SEC. 3. TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES OF THE UNITED 
STATES WITH RESPECT TO THE APPLICATION 
OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEAS-
URES TO AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTS. 
(a) OVERALL TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.— 
The overall trade negotiating objective of the United 
States with respect to the application of sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures to agricultural products for trade 
agreements between the United States and foreign coun-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
tries is to secure more open, equitable, and reciprocal mar-
ket access by strengthening the rules governing the appli-
cation of sanitary and phytosanitary measures to agricul-
tural products. 
(b) PRINCIPAL TRADE NEGOTIATING OBJECTIVES.— 
The principal trade negotiating objectives of the United 
States with respect to the application of sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures to agricultural products are the 
following: 
(1) To strengthen the requirement that the ap-
plication of measures is based on scientific evidence 
by requiring parties to the agreement to make avail-
able their risk assessments and provide a science- 
based justification for regulations, in particular in 
cases in which measures are more restrictive than 
international standards. 
(2) To encourage parties to the agreement to 
participate actively in the development of inter-
national standards relating to the application of 
measures and to apply those standards whenever it 
is appropriate to do so and to require parties to pro-
vide a scientific justification whenever they apply a 
standard that deviates from an established inter-
national standard. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(3) To improve regulatory coherence and in-
crease the use of systems-based approaches, to re-
quire parties to the agreement to evaluate on a time-
ly basis the health and safety protection systems of 
other parties and to allow imports of products if the 
system of the exporting party meets or exceeds the 
end-product standards of the importing party. 
(4) To require greater transparency in the de-
velopment and implementation of the measures, to 
require parties to the agreement to publish proposed 
measures, including a scientific justification, to pro-
vide an opportunity for interested parties to com-
ment on the proposal, and to take into account rea-
sonable concerns, and to require parties to provide 
significant advance notice before implementing new, 
non-emergency measures in order to provide ample 
time for any necessary adjustments by industry in 
order to come into compliance. 
(5) To require parties to the agreement to carry 
out risk analysis in a timely manner consistent with 
the guidelines developed by relevant international or-
ganizations, to ensure that risk assessments are 
based on the most relevant scientific data, to require 
parties to consider the full range of risk manage-
ment options and to ensure that the measures are 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
no more trade-restrictive than necessary to meet the 
intended purpose, and to require effective risk com-
munication. 
(6) To improve rules governing the testing of 
imported products, to require importing parties to 
use validated test methods and to provide importers 
with the right to a confirmatory test, and to provide 
the right of appeal. 
(7) To promote the harmonization of export 
certification requirements and to require that parties 
to the agreement limit information requirements on 
export documents to that which is necessary to de-
termine whether a product meets sanitary and 
phytosanitary standards. 
(8) 
To 
ensure 
that 
new 
sanitary 
and 
phytosanitary trade obligations are fully enforceable 
through an a more efficient and effective dispute 
settlement process. 
SEC. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 
(b), this Act takes effect on the date of the enactment 
of this Act and applies with respect to negotiations entered 
into before, on, or after such date of enactment for any 
trade agreement relating to the application of sanitary and 
phytosanitary measures to agricultural products. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(b) EXCEPTION.—This Act does not apply with re-
spect to negotiations for any of the following: 
(1) The United States–Colombia Trade Pro-
motion Agreement. 
(2) The United States–Korea Free Trade 
Agreement. 
(3) The United States–Panama Trade Pro-
motion Agreement. 
(4) The Doha Development Round of the World 
Trade Organization. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
04:22 Jul 30, 2011
Jkt 099200
PO 00000
Frm 00010
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H2707.IH
H2707
smartinez on DSK6TPTVN1PROD with BILLS