The WTO SPS Agreement and its relevance to international standards

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1 The WTO SPS Agreement and its relevance to international standards Ella Strickland Head of unit European Commission, DG Multilateral International Relations Unit 19 February 2014, Brussels

2 Why trade? Economic advantages Creates jobs and promotes growth Greater variety of goods at lower prices to consumers Helps to reduce poverty Boosts competition Leads to specialisation and higher efficiency Spreads innovation Political advantages No trade restriction - no tension

3 EU s position in global trade The EU is the world's largest trading block Central pillar of the world economy Biggest market in the world million consumers Well-informed consumers looking for high quality products Committed to free trade active participant in international fora Open trade system - transparent rules Political capacity to conclude trade agreements

4 World Trade Organization Established on 1 January 1995 Succeeded GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) Bali 1st new WTO agreement since 1995 Based in Geneva 159 Members Member-driven Decisions by consensus 30 negotiated agreements Dispute settlement

5 WTO Agreements 12 specialised agreements on trade in goods Agriculture Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) Textiles and clothing etc General agreement on trade in services Agreement on trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights Agreement on dispute settlement Plurilateral agreements

6 WTO SPS Agreement In force since 1 January 1995 Sets out rules that WTO members are obliged to follow when they set SPS measures on food safety, animal health and plant health Recognises Members' rights to impose SPS measures to achieve the appropriate level of protection (ALOP) - if this level is higher than international standard, it must be supported by scientific evidence Applies to all measures that may affect international trade Underlying objective is to promote stability and predictability in the system

7 WTO SPS Agreement Basic principles SPS Measures shall be:» Transparent» Based on international standards» Based on scientific principles and risk assessment» Proportionate» Non-discriminatory» No more trade restrictive than necessary

8 International standard-setting WTO SPS Agreement encourages the use of standards developed by the international standard-setting bodies The Three Sister Organisations: Food safety FAO/WHO CODEX Alimentarius Commission Plant protection International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) Animal health World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE)

9 Why harmonize internationally? In order to facilitate trade by: providing health protection based on scientific evidence avoiding market disturbances - stability facilitating investment ensuring consumers' confidence by ensuring high quality facilitating access to third country markets simplifying control procedures on the basis of guarantees

10 Decision-making in the WTO Ministerial Conference General Council Council for Trade in Goods Technical Committees: SPS, TBT

11 WTO SPS Committee Meets three times per year Forum to exchange information, raise trade problems, review the Agreement Horizontal issues: ad hoc consultation, private standards, issues under the fourth review The three sisters have observer status as well as a number of other organisations

12 The work of the European Commission (DG SANCO/DG TRADE) Works closely with EU stakeholders Ensures that EU legislation meets the obligations of the SPS Agreement Tackles unjustified and unreasonable SPS barriers Requests bilateral discussions with third country authorities Raises specific trade concerns in the plenary meeting of the SPS Committee Negotiates the chapter on SPS in international agreements Provides capacity building to developing countries Actively participates in the standard setting work of the three sisters

13 Transparency SANCO responsibilities DG SANCO is the EU SPS notification authority/enquiry point Assists Member States to notify their SPS measures to the WTO Notifies any EU legislation which has an effect on international trade, responds to comments received Discusses trade measures with partners Monitors notifications (legislative changes) of other WTO members Maintains records of all notifications via the SPS notifications database

14 Trade concerns involving the EU 74 concerns raised by the EU since 1995 Examples: BSE against several countries, since 2004 Import ban on live animals against Russia, raised in 2012 Schmallenberg virus against several countries, raised in 2012

15 Trade concerns involving the EU 73 concerns raised against the EU since 1995 Examples: EU temperature treatment requirements for imports of processed meat products Russian Federation Restrictions on poultry exports US

16 Dispute settlement Dispute Settlement Understanding (DSU) the main WTO agreement on settling disputes Not a quick-fix solution More than 450 disputes in all areas - had formally been raised until 15 November alleged violation of the SPS Agreement - 24 of which resulted in the establishment of a dispute settlement panel These panels were established to look at 15 different SPS issues

17 Dispute cases when a panel was established Canada and the United States' - against the European Communities' measures - meat and meat products (ban on meat treated with growthpromoting hormones); European Communities - against Canada and the United States - their continued suspension of obligations relating to the EC-Hormones dispute; United States - against the European Communities' measures - poultry meat and poultry meat products; Canada against the European Communities' measures prohibiting the importation and marketing of seal products

18 Thank you for your attention! Useful Links: WTO DG SANCO _en.htm