(d) the accession to and participation of the Member or competent entities in its territory in international and regional sanitary and phytosanitary organizations and systems, as well as in bilateral and multilateral agreements and arrangements under this Convention, and the text of such agreements and arrangements. (a) the provision of information or copies of drafts or the publication of texts not written in the language of the Member, except as otherwise provided in paragraph 8 of this Annex; or it is necessary for the members to publish their statutes and inform the other members if they intend to make an order or to amend it substantially. In many cases, the Notification Authority is an existing ministry or governmental authority responsible for the management of areas covered by the SPS Agreement. There should be only one PLC notification body, even if PLC functions are the responsibility of more than one government agency. Members must also set up an enquiry point. The enquiry point is an official or body designated to respond to regulatory requests from other WTO Members and the public. The enquiry point system allows countries to easily obtain information on SPS and related issues without having to identify and contact directly the different agencies responsible for a particular function in another country. The enquiry point is the central point of contact to which all relevant requests can be addressed. It is responsible for obtaining replies from the competent national bodies and for responding to the country that so requests. In this topic, you learned more about helplines and enquiry points. They learned that members must indicate where questions about AUTOMATE issues can be directed. Members must also notify the international trading community if they intend to amend or adopt new regulations.
The WTO should be informed when a Member`s notification body or enquiry point has been established. The WTO Secretariat should also be informed if the Notification Authority or Enquiry Point is changed. The WTO Secretariat regularly distributes a list of notification bodies and enquiry points of all Members. This list is updated three to four times a year. (b) disclose to members confidential information that would impede the application of sanitary or phytosanitary legislation or that would prejudice the legitimate commercial interests of certain undertakings. Chris Downes, The Impact of WTO Transparency Rules: Is the 10,000th SPS Notification a Cause for Celebration?—A Case Study of EU Practice, Journal of International Economic Law, Volume 15, Issue 2, June 2012, Pages 503–524, doi.org/10.1093/jiel/jgs013 d) without discrimination, give reasonable time for other Members to make written comments, discuss such comments upon request, and consider comments and outcomes of discussions. (a) inform the other Members without delay, through the Secretariat, of the Regulation and the products concerned, with a brief reference to the subject matter and justification of the Regulation, including the nature of the urgent problem(s); To purchase short-term access, please log in to the top of your Oxford Academic account. Most users need to log in with their email address. If you originally registered with a username, please use it to log in. (a) publish a notice at an early stage so that interested members can become familiar with the proposal to introduce a particular regulation; The transparency provisions of the SPS Agreement aim to ensure that SPS measures are made known to all potentially interested parties, from the public to trading partners. In addition to the prompt publication of new or amended requirements, countries are responsible for explaining why they establish specific SPS measures if requested by another country.
(c) the risk assessment procedures, the factors taken into account and the determination of the appropriate level of sanitary or phytosanitary protection; Don`t have an Oxford Academic account yet? (c) make copies of the proposed Regulation available to other Members upon request and, to the extent possible, identify parties that differ materially from international standards, guidelines or recommendations;. An important factor for stable international trade is open communication between trading partners. Open communication is especially important when communicating new rules or asking questions about existing policies. In this section, you will learn how the SPS agreement promotes communication and transparency. (b) all control and inspection procedures, production and quarantine treatment, pesticide tolerance and authorisation procedures for food additives carried out in its territory; (b) inform the other members, through the Secretariat, of the products covered by the Regulation, together with a brief indication of the purpose and justification of the proposed Regulation. Such notifications shall be made at an early stage, where changes can still be made and comments can still be taken into account; (b) make copies of the Rules available to other Members upon request; Members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) are increasingly notifying trading partners of changes in national legislation in accordance with Article 7 and Annex B of the Agreement on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS). Nevertheless, these notifications alone provide little information on the extent to which Members have committed to transparency and on the real contribution of these obligations to the WTO in facilitating international trade. Based on a case study on EU notification of food safety measures, this article examines the impact of WTO rules on the development of national SPS measures.
Although clearly committed to promoting transparency, the EU`s application of SPS standards is inconsistent in practice: non-notification of many EU and EU Member States` actions and, in some cases, non-notification in a way that allows for a third-country opinion. This review identifies the factors that make it difficult for the EU to consistently implement transparency obligations. Despite the documented gaps, the case study shows the emergence of policy-making practices that can contribute significantly to the removal of technical barriers to agricultural trade. .