sixth Review of the Operation and
Implementation of the Agreement
on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
REPORT
ADOPTED BY the committee on 20 March 2025 – PART A
Article
12.7 of the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
(the SPS Agreement) provides that "[t]he 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 was completed in March 1999.[1]
At the Fourth Ministerial Conference, Ministers instructed the Committee to
review the operation and implementation of the SPS Agreement at least once
every four years.[2] The Fifth Review of
the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement (the Fifth Review)
was completed, and the corresponding report adopted ad referendum in July 2020.[3]
At
its November 2023 meeting, the Committee adopted a process to undertake the Sixth Review
of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement (the Sixth Review).[4] In accordance with this
process, Members adopted the report of the Sixth Review at the March 2025 Committee
meeting.
The
report of the Sixth Review is comprised of two parts:
·_
Part A – Sixth Review discussions – containing, by key
topics[5], information on Sixth Review
proposals, related discussions and thematic sessions, as well as recommendations
for further work. Part A also outlines previous Committee
decisions, guidelines, and recommendations that Members were invited to review
or update as part of the Sixth Review.
·_
Part B – Committee work during the
review period – containing information regarding the Committee's main
areas of work from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024.
The
present document contains Part A of the report; Part B can be found in addendum
1 to this document.
Table of
contents
Page
1 Introduction.. 3
2 Proposals And Recommendations. 3
2.1 Addressing modern challenges and
emerging risks. 3
2.2 Cooperation with ISSBs. 5
2.3 Regionalization. 6
2.4 Technical assistance / S&DT. 7
2.5 Technology / IT tools. 9
2.6 Transparency / Notification Procedures. 10
2.7 Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs) 11
2.8 Facility registration. 12
2.9 Systems approach. 13
3 Committee decisions, guidelines, and
recommendations
to be periodically reviewed or updated. 13
_3.1 Procedure to Monitor the Process of
International Harmonization
(G/SPS/11/Rev.1 and G/SPS/40) 13
_3.2 Consistency – Guidelines to Further
the Practical Implementation of Article 5.5
(G/SPS/15) 14
_3.3 Procedure to Enhance
Transparency of Special and Differential Treatment in Favour
of Developing Country Members (G/SPS/33/Rev.1) 14
_3.4 Recommended Procedure to Encourage and Facilitate
the Resolution of Specific
SPS issues among Members in Accordance with Article 12.2 (G/SPS/61) 15
_3.5 Collection of Available Tools and
Resources in relation to SPS Approval
Procedures (G/SPS/67) 15
_3.6 Collection of Resources to Facilitate
Implementation of National SPS
Coordination Mechanisms (G/SPS/GEN/1850/Rev.1) 15
[3] _G/SPS/64 and _G/SPS/64/Add.1.
[5] As identified in the most recent revision of document _G/SPS/GEN/2194.