Standards and
Technical Barriers
to Trade
UNIT 8
Define SPS measures
Explain the importance of SPS
measures
Learning Describe pertinent provisions of
Objectives the SPS Agreement
Define Technical Barriers to Trade
Explain their importance and
pertinent provisions
What are SPS Measures?
Sanitary (human and animal health)
and Phytosanitary (plant health)
measures ensure that food is safe for
consumers
They prevent the spread of pests or
diseases among animals and plants
What are SPS Measures?
They are applied for the following reasons:
To protect human or animal life from risks arising
from additives, contaminants, toxins or disease-
causing organisms in their food;
To protect human life from plant- or animal-carried
diseases;
To protect animal or plant life from pests, diseases,
or disease-causing organisms;
To prevent or limit other damage to a country
from the entry, establishment or spread of pests
What are SPS Measures?
Products must come from a disease-free area. This
is ensured through:
inspection of products
specific treatment or processing of products
setting of allowable maximum levels of
pesticide residues or permitted use of only
certain additives in food.
Why are SPS Measures
important?
Safeguard public health Facilitate and enhance trade by However may result in
increasing the confidence of restrictions to trade when they
consumers in imported products are used for economic
protection
The SPS Agreement:
Scope of Application
It applies to any measure which is adopted by a
WTO member with the aim to:
protect consumers and animals from food- and
feed-borne risks
protect consumers, animals and plants from pest- or
disease-related risks
The SPS Agreement: Scope of
Agreement
SPS protection is achieved through:
Import bans
Technical specifications; process
and product standards
Information remedies, such as
labelling requirements
The Right to take SPS
Measures: Art. 2
• Members have the right to set their
The SPS own SPS measures that are
Agreement: necessary for the protection of
human, animal or plant life or
Basic Rights health
and • However the said measures may
only be applied:
Obligations
• to the extent to which they are
necessary
• If they are based on scientific
principles
The SPS Agreement: Basic Rights and
Obligations
The scientific principles must be
backed by scientific evidence
However, they may be applied
provisionally where scientific evidence
is insufficient (Art. 5.7)
They must not arbitrarily or unjustifiably
discriminate between Members where
identical or similar conditions prevail
The SPS Agreement: Basic Rights and
Obligations
Obligation to Harmonise SPS measures;
Art. 3
SPS measures that are set by a
member of the WTO must conform to
international standards guidelines or
recommendations
This ensures that they are harmonised
Harmonisation: The 3 Sister
Organisations
The International Plant Protection
Convention (IPPC); Plant Health
The World Organisation for Animal
Health (OIE); Animal Health
The Codex Alimentarius
Commission (Codex); Food Safety
The SPS Agreement: Basic Rights and
Obligations
Right to adopt measures that result in higher
levels of protection
Members have the right to adopt SPS
measures which result in a higher level of
protection than would be achieved by
applying the relevant international standard
They must be based on an assessment of risks
to plant human or animal life and health
pursuant to Art. 5
The SPS Agreement: Basic
Rights and Obligations
Risk Analysis Obligations Art. 5
Member states are under an obligation to
base their SPS measures on health risks that
have been scientifically assessed
This must be done based on international
standards of risk assessment of food borne
risks and pest borne risks
The SPS Agreement: Basic Rights and
Obligations
Transparency and Notification Obligations Art. 7
Members of the WTO are required to notify
amendments to SPS measures
They must provide any other relevant
information They must make sure that all
adopted SPS measures are published
This will enable all interested parties to
become acquainted with them.
Special And
Differential
The SPS Treatment Of
Developing
Agreement: Countries Art 10
Basic Rights Developed
and countries are under
an obligation to
Longer time frames
of compliance
Obligations take in to account
the special needs of
should be allowed
for products from
developing developing
countries when countries where
developing SPS changes are made
measures
What are Technical
Barriers to Trade?
Mandatory technical regulations and voluntary standards
that define specific characteristics that a product should
have.
Include the following:
its size,
shape,
design,
labelling / marking / packaging,
functionality or performance.
What are Technical Barriers to
Trade?
Also refer to conformity These are the specific Include:
assessment procedures procedures that are used to - Product testing
check whether a product
- Inspection
follows the requirements.
- Certification activities
What are Technical
Barriers to Trade?
TBTs are introduced by government
authorities for the following purposes:
protecting human health and safety
Protecting animal and plant life and
health
Protecting the environment
Safeguarding consumers from deceptive
practices
TBT’s as barriers to trade
TBTs have an impact on trade and the
competitiveness of exporters
Adjusting products and production processes to
comply with different requirements in export
markets, as well as demonstrating compliance
with these requirements, increases product
costs and time-to-market
For this reason they are non-tariff barriers to
trade
The WTO TBT Agreement
Covers technical regulations and standards
Aim of the agreement is to prevent
protectionism
The progressive tariff reductions that have
taken place in the GATT/WTO framework
have left certain industrial and political
leaders looking for other means of protecting
their industries; non-tariff barriers
The WTO TBT Agreement
TBT Agreement aims to They must be prepared,
ensure that TBT measures adopted and applied
do not result in according to some basic
discrimination or arbitrary principles, in order to
restrictions on minimise the negative
international trade. impact on trade. (Art 2.2)
Technical Regulations Art 2
MFN rule and National treatment
Harmonisation (International Standards)
Must be necessary
Performance requirements
Conformity assessment
Special and differential treatment
Cases
See:
EC – Trade Description of Sardines 2003 - DS231
Australia – Measures Affecting Importation of
Salmon 2000 – DS18
Japan – Measures Affecting the Importation of
Apples 2002 DS245
Japan – Measures Affecting Agricultural Products
Test Your Understanding
1. What matters are covered by the SPS Agreement and not the
TBT Agreement?
2. Does the TBT Agreement apply when a government seeks to
procure goods? What is the AGP?
3. What does the obligation in Article 2.2 of the TBT Agreement to
prevent unnecessary obstacles to international trade entail?
4. What does the term “necessary” mean for TBT purposes?
5. What is transparency? Why is transparency important from the
perspective of the TBT Agreement? What kinds of transparency
obligations exist under the TBT Agreement?
6. What does “harmonization” entail and why is it important?
7. What forms of special and differential treatment are available?
Do you think they are satisfactory? Why or why not?
8. What does the requirement of “sufficient scientific evidence”
entail?
The End
