Strategies for Handling Notifications at National Level – the Experience of China

1. Strategies for Handling Notifications at National Level – the Experience of China Yang Song Deputy Division Director WTO/SPS National Enquiry Point of China

2. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members 4. Dealing with SPS Enquires 5. The Website of SPS Notification & Enquiry 6. Difficulties faced

3. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System

4. 1. SPS System of China • government authorities involved • General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) • Ministry of Commerce • Ministry of Agriculture • Ministry of Health • Certification and Accreditation Administration of China • The State Food and Drug Administration • The State Forestry Administration

5. 1. SPS System • The Inter-Ministerial Coordination Mechanism on TBT and SPS Measures • Established in 2002 • Led by AQSIQ • To promote coordination on: • The implementation of SPS Agreement • SPS related training • Commenting on notifications that have crucial impact on the trade (Positive List, Anti-terrorism, etc.)

6. 1. SPS System of China • The SPS National Enquiry Point Established in AQSIQ to coordinate the notification, enquiry and comment issues domestically • The Notification Authority Established in the Ministry of Commerce to submit notifications

7. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China

8. 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China • Drafting of new SPS measure - competent authority • Deciding whether to notify or not - competent authority • Filling out the notification form in both English and Chinese - the competent authority • Submitting the notification to SPS Enquiry Point • Reviewing the notification - SPS Enquiry Point • Submitting to the Notification Authority • Submitting to WTO - through the Permanent Mission of China in Geneva

9. 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China • 241 SPS notifications including: • 140 notifications according to the Accession Commitment • 95 notifications on new SPS measures • 6 addendum notifications • Improvement The awareness of the importance of notification is increasing among competent authorities

10. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members

11. 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members • Receiving and translating notifications - SPS Enquiry Point • Selecting notifications to comment- SPS Enquiry Point • Distributing notifications to relevant authorities Both electronic version and paper version • SPS Notification Newsletter – including all notifications, published every two weeks • Notifications and their Chinese translation also available on the website of the SPS Enquiry Point

12. 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members • Studying and making comments on notifications - Expert group established by relevant Chinese government authorities related to SPS issues • Collecting comments - SPS Enquiry Point • Examining comments – AQSIQ • Translating the final comments into English and submitting to the notification Member - the Enquiry Point • Coordination • Important notifications • Disagreement on comment

13. 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members • Receiving responses - SPS Enquiry Point • Feedback for reference or further comment

14. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members 4. Dealing with SPS Enquires

15. 4. Dealing with SPS Enquires • The SPS Enquiry Point is responsible to answer reasonable questions asked by domestic and foreign government authorities, industries and other stakeholders. • During the 4 years after the Accession, it have received and answered more than 1100 enquiries and the number of enquiries is increasing year by year.

16. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members 4. Dealing with SPS Enquires 5. The Website of SPS Notification & Enquiry of China

17. 5. The Website of SPS Notification & Enquiry of China • Functions • Provide information on proposals notified by all WTO Members including China • Provide information on SPS measures of China and other Members, including laws, regulations, decrees, standards and etc. • A channel for comment online • A channel for enquiry online

18. 5. The Website of SPS Notification & Enquiry of China • Contents Dozens of databases: • Notifications from China • Notifications from other members • Laws, regulations, decrees, standards and etc. • Risk alert system • Analysis reports

19. 5. The Website of SPS Notification & Enquiry of China • The website is established in 2003, and available to government authorities, industries and other stakeholders • Feed back by users - informative and useful • 630,000 visits total, 270,000 in 2005 www.tbt-sps.gov.cn

20. the Experience of China on Transparency 1. SPS System 2. Notifying SPS Measures of China 3. Handling Notifications from Other Members 4. Dealing with SPS Enquires 5. The Website of SPS Notification & Enquiry of China 6. Difficulties faced

21. 4. Difficulties faced • Translation • Large amount – notifications and full texts • Costly for both money and time • Unpopular languages • Solution - share informal translations • Problem - not a common practice

22. 4. Difficulties faced • Commenting period • Some notifications less than 60 days • Request for extending with no answer

23. 4. Difficulties faced • The initiative to make comments • As a new Member of WTO, there is not much awareness of the importance of making comments on notifications from other Members. Especially industries should be involved more deeply. • the training of industries should be strengthened. • Experience sharing on commenting encouraged.

24. Thank You