SIXTH REVIEW OF THE
OPERATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE AGREEMENT
ON THE APPLICATION OF SANITARY AND PHYTOSANITARY MEASURES
REINFORCING THE PRINCIPLE OF TRANSPARENCY BY FOLLOWING UP
ON THE COMMENT PROCESS FOR SPS NOTIFICATIONS
PROPOSAL
FROM CHILE
The
following proposal, received on 22 April 2024, is being circulated at the
request of the delegation of Chile.
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1 Background
1.1. At the informal meeting held alongside the March 2024 session, a
number of Members presented proposals that they wished to see incorporated into
the Sixth Review of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement.
1.2. This sixth review reinforces the importance of the principle of
transparency, as reflected by the presence of this matter in various proposals
made by Members prior to the 88th meeting of the Committee.
1.3. One delegation submitted a proposal on transparency and, in
particular, on the obligation to notify at an early appropriate stage in order
to improve the processing of comments during the notification consultation
period.
1.4. Members' processing of comments generated during the SPS
notification management process is extremely important for the proper
implementation of the transparency process and also aligns with and reinforces
other principles of the Agreement, thereby significantly contributing to
improving regulatory processes for the preparation, adoption and updating of
measures adopted by Members.
1.5. Submitting comments is a common practice, but there is no
centralized tool that provides information on the volume of comments received
or on whether comments have been taken into account, and it is therefore
unclear whether comments have influenced the final measure.
1.6. The Committee now has technological tools such as the ePing
SPS&TBT Platform, through which multiple tasks associated with the role of
each user can be carried out in one place. This platform could be further used
to better follow up on comments.
2 Proposal
for the Sixth Review
2.1. Chile believes that addressing the comment process would
substantially contribute to the Committee's work and to reinforcing the SPS
Agreement's transparency principle.
2.2. In view of the details provided above as background, it is proposed
that this matter be incorporated into the work programme for the Sixth Review
of the Operation and Implementation of the SPS Agreement, with a view to
learning about Members' specific interests and proposals through either a thematic
session or some other medium that is deemed relevant. This would, in turn, promote
discussion and enhance the exchange of new ideas.
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