SPS COMMITTEE THEMATIC SESSION
ADDRESSING ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE THROUGH SPS MEASURES
IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE
TUESDAY 17 JUNE 2025
WTO, CENTRE WILLIAM RAPPARD, GENEVA
AND ZOOM
PROGRAMME[1]
Revision
1. The SPS Committee is holding a
thematic session on addressing relevant risks associated with antimicrobial
resistance (AMR) through SPS measures in
international trade, based on a proposal submitted
by the European Union.[2] This thematic session follows-up on a recommendation in the Report of
the Sixth Review of the SPS Agreement for the Committee to continue its
targeted discussions and reflections on the implementation of the SPS Agreement
in light of emerging challenges and opportunities[3], and builds on the MC12 SPS Declaration Work Programme.[4]
2. In the November 2024 thematic session on emerging risks and new agricultural technologies to
address them, AMR was identified as an emerging risk relevant to the work of the SPS Committee.
3. This thematic session will
focus on steps being taken by Members to address relevant risks related to AMR
in the context of the SPS Agreement and international trade. It will explore
the relationship between AMR and the SPS Agreement and provide Members,
international organizations, academia, and other stakeholders with an
opportunity to share experiences and best practices in addressing relevant
AMR-related risks while facilitating safe trade.
4. The thematic session will be held
in Geneva on Tuesday 17 June 2025, from 10:00 to 13:00 (CET), continuing in the
afternoon from 15:00 to 18:00 (CET). The thematic session can be attended in
person or via Zoom with WTO credentials using this link. The event will also be livestreamed.[5] Interpretation will be provided in English, French, and Spanish.
5. Information on the thematic session and presentations are available
on the event's webpage.[6]
[1] This document has been prepared under the Secretariat's own
responsibility and is without prejudice to the positions of Members or to their
rights and obligations under the WTO.
[3] _G/SPS/74, para. 2.8.
[4] The MC12 SPS Declaration acknowledged that the global agricultural
landscape had evolved since 1995, with new opportunities and emerging
challenges for international trade in food, animals, and plants, including
shifting pressures due to the spread of pests, diseases, disease-carrying
organisms, or disease-causing organisms, increasing threat of AMR for human and
animal health, as well as emerging infectious diseases linked with the
human-animal-environment interface. (_WT/MIN(22)/27)
The MC12 SPS Declaration launched a two-year Work Programme consisting of new
efforts to identify, among others, the impacts of emerging challenges on the
application of the SPS Agreement. As one of the outcomes of the Work Programme,
the Committee recommended continuing its targeted discussions and reflections
on the implementation of the SPS Agreement in light of emerging challenges and
opportunities, including in specific thematic sessions. (_G/SPS/72, para. 4)