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Tamanna Chaturvedi Consultant Indian Institute of Foreign Trade. SPS Issues for Indian Agricultural Exports. NTBs. %. tariffs. ?. 1947. 2009. Two Way Dilemma. WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures. WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures.
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Tamanna ChaturvediConsultantIndian Institute of Foreign Trade SPS Issues for Indian Agricultural Exports
NTBs % tariffs ? 1947 2009
Two Way Dilemma WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures WTO Agreement on Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Measures How do you ensure that the country’s consumers are being supplied food safe to eat? How can you ensure strict health & safety regulations are not being used as an excuse for protecting domestic producers?
SPS stands for Sanitary & Phytosanitary Measures Avoiding unnecessary barriers to trade The right to protect human, animal or plant life or health
SPS or TBT ? SPS Measures TBT Measures • human or animal health from food-borne risks • human health from animal- or plant-carried diseases • animals and plants from pests or diseases • examples: • pesticide residues • food additives • human disease control (unless it’s food safety) • nutritional claims • food packaging and quality examples: • labelling (unless related to food safety) • pesticide handling • seat belts
Standard-setting organizations food safety plant health animal health OIE CODEX IPPC HarmonizationArticle 3 Codex = Joint FAO/WHO Codex Alimentarius Commission OIE = World Organization for Animal Health IPPC = International Plant Protection Convention (FAO)
Itallows countries to set their own standards On what basis?? Scientific Justification Should be applied only to the extent necessary to protect To what extent??? Equal Treatment?? Non Discrimination Member Countries are encouraged to use International standards.
Key Provisions of SPS Agreement • Non-discrimination • Scientific justification • harmonization • risk assessment • consistency • least trade-restrictiveness • Equivalence • Regionalization • Transparency • Technical assistance/special treatment • Control, inspection and approval procedures
Scientific justification Article 2.2 based on scientific principles Members shall ensure that any SPS measure is: applied only to the extent necessary to protect human, animal or plant life or health (least trade restrictive) not maintained without sufficient scientific evidence except as provided for in Article 5.7
Scientific Justification Articles 3 & 5 Measures must be based on Risk assessment International Standards OR
How is risk assessment done? • SPS measures to be based on • assessment of risks to human, animal or plant life or health, taking into account risk assessment techniques developed by international organizations. • available scientific evidences; process and production methods; inspection & sampling methods; prevalence of specified disease or pests; existence of pests/disease-free areas,etc • relevant economic factors & cost effectiveness of alternate approaches • Avoid arbitrary/unjustifiable distinctions in the levels in different situations if these result in disguised restrictions
Exception: Provisional measuresArticle 5.7 Members may provisionally adopt SPS measures • when relevant scientific information is insufficient • on the basis of available information In such circumstances, Members shall • seeks to obtain additional information to assess risk • review the measure within a reasonable period of time
Non-discriminationArticle 2.3 No unjustifiable discrimination • between Members with similar conditions • between own territory and other Members SPS permits Members to impose different sanitary and phytosanitary requirements on food, animal or plant products sources from different countries, provided that they "do not arbitrarily or unjustifiably discriminate between countries where identical or similar conditions prevail".
Equivalence Members shall If the exporting country objectively demonstrates that its measures achieve the same ALOP as the importing country Accept SPS measures of other Members as equivalent
Equivalence of Phytosanitary Measures Examples of Phytosanitary Equivalence • Alternative treatments of wood packaging material (ISPM Nº 15) • Phytosanitary measures to mitigate risks of fruit flies (pest free areas, area of low pest prevalence, pest free places of production, treatments, risk mitigation systems, inspection)
Disease free areas Article 6 • Adaptation of SPS measures to regional conditions, including pest- or disease- free areas, differing climatic conditions & different pest or diseases or food safety conditions so as to lead to the development/imposition of different SPS requirements • Exporter to demonstrate (reasonable access to be given for inspection/testing)
TransparencyArticle 7 & Annex B establish an Enquiry Point AND designate a Notification Authority Members shall notify other Members of new or changed SPS regulations when • no international standard exists • OR • the new regulation is different than the international standard • regulation may have significant effect on trade AND
When to notify? When modifications are still possible (draft text) Regular measures Allow 60 day comment period!! IMMEDIATELY!! Emergency measures
9. Entry into force of the regulation Min. 8. Publication of the regulation 6 months 7. Adoption of the regulation 6. End of comment period 5. Receive & discuss comments Min. 60 days 4. Draft text upon request (or website) 3. Notification to other Members 2. Publication of a notice ...Time... 1. Drafting of the regulation Transparency timeline
Special & Differential Treatment and Technical AssistanceArticles 9 & 10 • Members... • ...shall take account of the special needs of developing countries • ...should accord longer time frames for compliance • ...agree to facilitate provision of Technical Assistance
Analysis… • Widespread use of SPS/TBT both by developed & developing country markets. • In major importing countries of Fruits and marine products, NTM coverage is 100%. • Single product faces number of SPS standards in the same market.e.g. USA& Japan for fish and Australia, Japan, USA, Mexico & Singapore for fruits. • Single product faces different import standards in different markets. • Countries have different health standards for imports as against domestic production.
Tariffs and NTMs on Indian Exports • Tariffs and NTMs together imposed on • Oilseeds in Taiwan • Cane Sugar in Bangladesh • Bovine meat in Egypt • Crustaceans in Thailand • Malt extract in USA Bangladesh • Only NTMs • Pepper in Canada • Rice in Nigeria • Oilseeds in USA, Taiwan • Cane sugar in Malaysia, Indonesia • Fish products in USA • Tea in USA
Maximum levels for Aflatoxins in spices in various developed countries
Comparison of CODEX level with Country standards for Fruits More stringent than CODEX Better off than CODEX
Importing Country Regulations regarding Salmonella Hong Kong Products may be subjected to lab examination or microbiological contamination & positive testing shipment refused entry Japan Japanese Min of health reserves the right to test shipments China No separate Salmonella specific requirements Canada No separate Salmonella specific requirements for raw products Korea No separate Salmonella specific requirements Estonia Mechanically deboned meat is tested for salmonella at port of entry Positive testing denied entry Countries varies in their SPS standards-case of Salmonella Salmonella widely present in domestic supply chains in USA however country claims to have has zero tolerance for the pathogen
Importing Country Regulations regarding Fruits Australia Strict attention to plant health(fumigation only using methyl bromide) USA Strong official attention to product cleanliness, labeling for allergens & fumigation banned out. EU In contrast Fumigation is already banned in EU v Spain Importance to testing on pesticide residue v Germany Hardly any consignment tested v UK Most pesticide residue testing is undertaken for products at retail level Different Operative Procedures for Conformity Requirements for Fruits Customers of South Europe prefer large sizes of tropical fruits (pineapples, papayas & mango) whereas customers in North Europe prefer small fruits.
Different Marketing Standards between countries • Health control: food law, hygiene, microbiological criteria, contaminants, pesticides • Plant Health: phytosanitary control • Marketing Standards: generic or specific • Other: food additives, food contact material, food irradiation, novel foods, GMOs, labeling & organic products
Incompatible SPS Standards: case of Milk Production in India
Strict Certification & Import Procedures: example of China Many regulations and requirements are updated frequently and often without prior notice. Possibility of variation in the documentation required for various products in various Chinese ports. A new and original phytosanitary certificate must accompany each consignment of fresh fruits, vegetables, or tree nuts. A tamper-resistant, bilingual label should be on the outside of each carton. The establishment number should be printed on the inner poly liner, poly bag, or vacuum bag. Although pre-approval is not mandatory, China’s General Administration of Customs (GAC) can require pre-import analysis if warranted.
Strict Labeling Requirements A large amount of information has to be provided on the label in both English & Chinese. The establishment number should be printed on the inner poly liner, poly bag, or vacuum bag. In the case of Alcohol & Pre-packaged food Labeling should be in Chinese. Specific font sizes have to be maintained. In the case of milk & milk products Labeling should be in Chinese. Specific background colors have also been mentioned.