Various new and ongoing trade issues were discussed during a recent meeting of the World Trade Organization (WTO) that also dealt with the image of reports in 2024.
Participants during the March meeting of the WTO committee for sanitary and phytosanitarian (SPS) indicated measures on Handelszorg with regard to food safety and health of animals and plants.
Members have increased 60 specific trading care (STCs), including six for the first time.
New topics related to delays in approval processes for market access; genetically modified organisms (GMOs); And animal diseases such as African pig fever and bird flu. Attention was also paid to EU measures with regard to pesticides, contaminants, endocrine disruptors and veterinary medicinal products.
Marked trade topics
Two trading care concerned the European Union and Australia. One was about the long approval procedures of Australia for market access applications, while the other called the African pig poorts.
The United States introduced the issue of prohibition of Turkey on the import of living cattle. Argentina was unhappy about the limitations of Japan on poultry meat, while Korea emphasized delays through the Philippines when resuming the import of sterilized processed pig products.
The aforementioned topics included Thailand’s suspension of beef export and edible slaughter waste from Brazil, limitations by Hong Kong and China on herb imports from India for ethylene oxide, and EU retrieges in innovative authorizations for fishing and fish products from Russia.
Import restrictions by China, Hong Kong and Russia on water products from Japan after the resignation of the Advanced Liquid Processing System (Alps) treated water from the Fukushima -core center was discussed for the fifth time.
The longest -running trade issue that was emphasized during the meeting was to do with general import restrictions from BSE. It has been collected 53 times since June 2004.
Annual situation and STDF strategy
According to the annual WTO SPS Transparency reportA record of 70 members submitted 2,147 reports of new or modified SPS measures in 2024.
Four least developed countries – Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and Rwanda – were among the top 10 of regulators of regular reports. Cambodia raised his first SPS report. Most of the regular reports with regard to food safety, while 93 percent of the emergency reports referred to animal health. Brazil submitted the most regular reports in 2024, but Thailand raised the most emergency reports.
Countries discussed a record 80 STCs, including 23 new worries. A total of 21 members were picked up at least one STC and 41 STCs were reported as solved.
Members have also taken over the sixth assessment of the operation and implementation of the WTO SPS agreement.
Important recommendations include the creation of a transparency working group to look at areas such as improving SPS reports and continuous cooperation with the Codex Alimentarius Commission.
There was a call for dialogue and sessions on various topics, including challenges and emerging risks, innovative approaches, digital tools, maximum residues and the process for offering listing facilities that can export certain agricultural/foods.
Another development during the meeting was the launch of the strategy of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) 2025 to 2030.
The program helps the development of economies to comply with the international SPS standard and to participate in global trade. Grace Mandigma, from the Bureau of Agriculture and Fisheries Standards in the Philippines, and Rommel Betancourt, from Ecuador’s Phyto and Zoosanitary Regulation and Control Agency, emphasized how the work of the STDF SPS capacities in their regions strengthened.
“Worldwide trade is evolving quickly and we need innovative solutions that are both relevant and effective,” said Dr. Marie-Luise Rae, chairman of the STDF working group. “The strategy offers a solid framework to take on these challenges, so that our collective efforts continue to facilitate safer trade, making a real difference for farmers, companies and consumers worldwide.”
The next meeting of the SPS committee is planned for 16 to 20 June.
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