REVIEW OF THE OPERATION AND IMPLEMENTATION

OF THE SPS AGREEMENT

background document^[1]

Note by the Secretariat^[2]

1  INTRODUCTION

1.1.  Article 12.7 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures ("the Agreement") provides that "the Committee shall review the operation and implementation of this Agreement three years after the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement, and thereafter as the need arises". A First Review of the Agreement was completed in March 1999.^[3]

1.2.  At the Fourth Session of the Ministerial Conference, Ministers instructed the Committee to review the operation and implementation of the Agreement at least once every four years. The Third Review of the Agreement was completed in May 2010.^[4] At its October 2013 meeting, the Committee adopted a procedure and timetable to undertake the Fourth Review of the Agreement.^[5]

1.3.  This background document, following the practice of the three preceding Reviews, provides information regarding the implementation and operation of issues related to:

·          Implementation of the Agreement (Articles 12.1 and 12.2) – Specific trade concerns;

·          Implementation of the Agreement (Article 12.2) – Use of ad hoc consultations;

·          Transparency (Article 7 and Annex B);

·          Equivalence (Article 4);

·          Monitoring the use of international standards (Article 3.5 and 12.4);

·          Technical assistance and training activities (Article 9);

·          Special and differential treatment (Article 10);

·          Regionalization (Article 6);

·          Consistency (Article 5.5);

·          Cooperation with Codex Alimentarius, International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) and the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE) (Article 12.3);

·          SPS-related Private Standards;

·          Good regulatory practice; and

·          Dispute settlement activities (Article 11).