REPORT ON NOTIFICATION STATUS OF REGULAR/PERIODIC AND ONE-TIME ONLY NOTIFICATIONS IN THE GOODS AREA IN REPONSE TO CTG REQUEST

1.  This report, circulated by the Chairperson of the Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS Committee) on her own responsibility, summarizes the activities of the SPS Committee in response to the request from the Chairperson of the Council for Trade in Goods (CTG) of 9 April 2025.

2.  At that meeting, the Council considered a Secretariat report (_G/C/W/859) on  the status of regular, periodic and one‑time only notifications in the goods area. Members noted that subsidiary bodies were best placed to address their respective notification requirements, while the CTG could play a coordinating role, as in past reform‑by‑doing discussions.

3.  Accordingly, the CTG Chairperson invited subsidiary bodies to: (1) discuss the additional steps that could be taken to improve the regular/periodic and one‑time only notification requirements they oversee; (2) identify the steps needed to improve the quality and timeliness of notification; and (3) inform the Council of past actions that have worked well in improving the number of submitted notifications.

4.  At the SPS Committee informal session of 15 May 2025, the Chairperson highlighted the CTG request and clarified that the exercise focused on one-time only notifications, such as the notification of SPS enquiry points (NEPs) and notification authorities (NNAs), rather than regular SPS notifications, which were ad hoc notifications to be submitted when new SPS regulations were developed, or when existing regulations were changed. The Chairperson suggested that the Transparency Working Group (TWG), to be established following up a recommendation in the Report of the Sixth Review of the SPS Agreement (_G/SPS/74), could explore ways to encourage more notifications of SPS regulations. Members were also invited to review their NEP and NNA contact details in the ePing SPS&TBT Platform. Changes in this information would be included in the CTG report on the notification status of one-time only notifications.

5.  At its June 2025 meeting, the SPS Committee agreed to the preparation of this report with updated information on notifications of NEPs and NNAs, and to hold the first TWG meeting during its November 2025 Committee meetings, where options to encourage more notifications of SPS regulations could be discussed.

Members' notification of SPS NEPs and NNAs in the period 15 May – 15 October 2025

6.  Paragraph 10 of Annex B to the SPS Agreement requires Members to designate a single central government authority as responsible for the implementation of notification procedures. This authority is referred to as the SPS NNA. In the period from 15 May to 15 October 2025, two LDC Members submitted their NNA contact details for the first time, and 11 Members updated their NNA information. As of 15 October, a total of 162 out of 166 WTO Members had designated such an authority.[1] The Members that have not designated NNAs are all LDCs, with one exception. In addition, one observer government has designated an NNA.

7.  Paragraph 3 of Annex B to the SPS Agreement requires each Member to establish a national enquiry point (NEP) responsible for the provision of answers to all reasonable questions and of relevant documents. Between 15 May and 15 October 2025, no Member established an NEP for the first time. However, four Members added one or more NEPs to their existing one, and 16 Members updated their NEP contact information. As of 15 October, a total of 163 Members had submitted NEP contact details. One developing Member and two LDC Members have yet to establish an NEP. In addition, three observer governments have established an NEP.

8.  As of 15 October, thirty‑six Members have identified more than one SPS NEP. A total of 34 Members have indicated that their NNA and NEP are the same institution.

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