SIXTH REVIEW OF THE AGREEMENT ON PRESHIPMENT INSPECTION

Report by the Chairperson

1._        Article 6 of the WTO Agreement on Preshipment Inspection (PSI Agreement) states that:

"At the end of the second year from the date of entry into force of the WTO Agreement and every three years thereafter, the Ministerial Conference shall review the provisions, implementation and operation of this Agreement, taking into account the objectives thereof and experience gained in its operation. As a result of such review, the Ministerial Conference may amend the provisions of the Agreement".

2._        The Committee has conducted five prior reviews of the PSI Agreement which were concluded, respectively, in March 1999 (_G/L/300), October 2006 (_G/L/809), October 2014 (_G/L/1081), April 2018 (_G/L/1236), and October 2021 (_G/L/1409).

3._        The Committee launched the Sixth Review of the PSI Agreement at the meeting of 15 November 2023 and, at the request of the Committee, the Secretariat had prepared a factual report which had been circulated in February 2024 in document _G/VAL/W/389, for consideration by the Committee at its meeting of 23 May 2024. The report outlined the structure of the PSI Agreement, summarized prior reviews, contained information from Member notifications and other sources regarding the use of PSI programmes, and provided information relating to the Independent Entity, which was established to address disputes between PSI entities and exporters.

4._        No written submissions were received from Members during the review.

5._        The Sixth Review of the PSI Agreement was concluded at the meeting of the Committee on 11 December 2024.

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