Agriculture food and safety
Filter :
Language
Publication date
Content type
Series
Authors
Argentina - Measures Affecting the Importation of Goods
On 21 August 2012 Japan requested consultations with Argentina concerning certain measures imposed by Argentina on the importation of goods. Japan challenges: (i) the requirement to present for approval of a non-automatic import licence: Declaración Jurada Anticipada de Importación (DJAI); (ii) non-automatic licences required in the form of Certificados de Importación (CIs) for the importation of certain goods; (iii) requirements imposed on importers to undertake certain trade-restrictive commitments; and (iv) the alleged systematic delay in granting import approval or refusal to grant such approval or the grant of import approval subject to importers undertaking to comply with certain allegedly trade-restrictive commitments.
Peru - Additional Duty on Imports of Certain Agricultural Products
On 12 April 2013 Guatemala requested consultations with Peru with respect to the imposition by Peru of an “additional duty” on imports of certain agricultural products such as rice sugar maize milk and certain dairy products. Guatemala claims that the measure at issue is inconsistent with: - Article 4.2 and footnote 1 of the Agreement on Agriculture; - Articles II:1(a) II:1(b) X:1 X:3(a) XI and XI:1 of the GATT 1994; and - Articles 1 2 3 5 6 and 7 of the Customs Valuation Agreement.
United States - Certain Country of Origin Labelling (Cool) Requirements - Recourse 1
On 1 December 2008 Canada requested consultations with the United States concerning certain mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) provisions in the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 as amended by the 2008 Farm Bill and as implemented through an Interim Final Rule of 28 July 2008. These include the obligation to inform consumers at the retail level of the country of origin in respect of covered commodities including beef and pork. The eligibility for a designation of a covered commodity as exclusively having a US origin can only be derived from an animal that was exclusively born raised and slaughtered in the United States. This would exclude such a designation in respect of beef or pork derived from livestock that is exported to the United States for feed or immediate slaughter.
India - Measures Concerning the Importation of Certain Agricultural Products
On 6 March 2012 the United States requested consultations with India with respect to the prohibitions imposed by India on the importation of various agricultural products from the United States purportedly because of concerns related to Avian Influenza. The measures at issue are: the Indian Livestock Importation Act 1898 (9 of 1898) ("Livestock Act"); a number of orders issued by India's Department of Animal Husbandry Dairying and Fisheries pursuant to the Livestock Act most recently S.O. 1663(E); as well as any amendments related measures or implementing measures.
European Communities - Measures Prohibiting the Importation and Marketing of Seal Products
On 2 November 2009 Canada requested consultations with the European Communities concerning Regulation (EC) No. 1007/2009 of the European Parliament and of the EC Council of 16 September 2009 on trade in seal products and subsequent related measures. According to Canada the regulation in question prohibits the importation and the placing on the EC market of all seal products.
Korea - Measures Affecting the Importation of Bovine Meat and Meat Products from Canada
On 9 April 2009 Canada requested consultations with Korea concerning measures affecting the importation of bovine meat and meat products from Canada. According to Canada since May 2003 Korea prohibits the importation of Canadian bovine meat and meat products. The alleged objective of this prohibition would be that of protecting against risks arising from bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE).
United States - Certain Country of Origin Labelling (Cool) Requirements
On 1 December 2008 Canada requested consultations with the United States concerning certain mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) provisions in the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 as amended by the 2008 Farm Bill and as implemented through an Interim Final Rule of 28 July 2008. These include the obligation to inform consumers at the retail level of the country of origin in respect of covered commodities including beef and pork. The eligibility for a designation of a covered commodity as exclusively having a US origin can only be derived from an animal that was exclusively born raised and slaughtered in the United States. This would exclude such a designation in respect of beef or pork derived from livestock that is exported to the United States for feed or immediate slaughter.
United States - Measures Affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Cigarettes
On 7 April 2010 Indonesia requested consultations with the United States with respect to a provision of the Family Smoking Prevention Tobacco Control Act of 2009 that bans clove cigarettes. Indonesia alleged that Section 907 which was signed into law on 22 June 2009 prohibits among other things the production or sale in the United States of cigarettes containing certain additives including clove but would continue to permit the production and sale of other cigarettes including cigarettes containing menthol. Indonesia alleged that Section 907 is inconsistent inter alia with Article III:4 of the GATT 1994 Article 2 of the TBT Agreement and various provisions of the SPS Agreement.
SPS Measures and Trade
In an attempt to disentangle the impact of sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures on trade patterns we estimate a Heckman selection model on the HS4 disaggregated level of trade. Using SPS measures obtained from the SPS Information Management System of the WTO and controlling for zero trade flows we find that SPS concerns reduce the probability of trade in agricultural and food products consistently. However the amount of trade is positively affected by SPS measures conditional on market entry. This suggests that SPS measures constitute an effective market entry barrier. Additionally we split SPS measures into requirements related to (i) conformity assessment and (ii) product characteristics. Both types of measures are implemented by policy makers to achieve a desired level of health safety yet entail diverse trade costs. We find that conformity assessment measures hamper not only the likelihood to trade but also the amount of trade while measures related to product characteristics do not affect the market entry decision but have a strong positive impact on the trade volume. This suggests that trade outcomes crucially depend on the measure policy makers decide to implement.
United States - Certain Country of Origin Labelling (Cool) Requirements
On 1 December 2008 Canada requested consultations with the United States concerning certain mandatory country of origin labelling (COOL) provisions in the Agricultural Marketing Act of 1946 as amended by the 2008 Farm Bill and as implemented through an Interim Final Rule of 28 July 2008. These include the obligation to inform consumers at the retail level of the country of origin in respect of covered commodities including beef and pork. The eligibility for a designation of a covered commodity as exclusively having a US origin can only be derived from an animal that was exclusively born raised and slaughtered in the United States. This would exclude such a designation in respect of beef or pork derived from livestock that is exported to the United States for feed or immediate slaughter.
United States - Measures Affecting the Production and Sale of Clove Oigarettes
On 7 April 2010 Indonesia requested consultations with the United States with respect to a provision of the Family Smoking Prevention Tobacco Control Act of 2009 that bans clove cigarettes. Indonesia alleged that Section 907 which was signed into law on 22 June 2009 prohibits among other things the production or sale in the United States of cigarettes containing certain additives including clove but would continue to permit the production and sale of other cigarettes including cigarettes containing menthol. Indonesia alleged that Section 907 is inconsistent inter alia with Article III:4 of the GATT 1994 Article 2 of the TBT Agreement and various provisions of the SPS Agreement.
Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures
The WTO Secretariat has prepared this booklet to assist public understanding of the SPS Agreement it concerns the application of food safety and animal and plant health regulations. The first section of the booklet presents the basic structure of WTO agreements; the second looks at the key features of the SPS Agreement; the third addresses a number of frequently-asked questions; and the fourth is the legal text of the agreement.
Australia - Measures Affecting the Importation of Apples from New Zealand
On 31 August 2007 New Zealand requested consultations with Australia concerning measures imposed by Australia on the importation of apples from New Zealand. On 27 March 2007 Australia's Director of Animal and Plant Quarantine determined a policy for the importation of apples from New Zealand: “Importation of apples can be permitted subject to the Quarantine Act 1908 and the application of phytosanitary measures as specified in the Final import risk analysis report for apples from New Zealand November 2006”. New Zealand considers that these restrictions are inconsistent with Australia's obligations under the SPS Agreement and in particular Articles 2.1 2.2 2.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.6 8 and Annex C. On 13 September 2007 the European Communities requested to join the consultations. On 14 September 2007 the United States requested to join the consultations. Subsequently Australia informed the DSB that it had accepted the requests of the European Communities and the United States to join the consultations. On 6 December 2007 New Zealand requested the establishment of a panel. At its meeting on 17 December 2007 the DSB deferred the establishment of a panel.
United States - Certain Measures Affecting Imports of Poultry from China
On 17 April 2009 China requested consultations with the United States concerning certain measures taken by the United States affecting the import of poultry products from China. The measure primarily at issue is Section 727 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009 which effectively prohibits the establishment or implementation of any measures that would allow Chinese poultry to be imported into the United States because it denies the use of any funding by USDA for this purpose. China considers that the United States through Section 727 and any closely related measures is in violation at a minimum of Articles I:1 and XI:1 of GATT 1994 and Article 4.2 of the Agriculture Agreement. In addition China also specifies that although it does not believe that the US measure or any closely related measures at issue constitute sanitary and phytosanitary measures within the meaning of the SPS Agreement if it were demonstrated that any such measure is a SPS measure China would consider such measure also to be in violation of US obligations under various provisions of the SPS Agreement.
Australia - Measures Affecting the Importation of Apples from New Zealand
On 31 August 2007 New Zealand requested consultations with Australia concerning measures imposed by Australia on the importation of apples from New Zealand. On 27 March 2007 Australia's Director of Animal and Plant Quarantine determined a policy for the importation of apples from New Zealand: “Importation of apples can be permitted subject to the Quarantine Act 1908 and the application of phytosanitary measures as specified in the Final import risk analysis report for apples from New Zealand November 2006”. New Zealand considers that these restrictions are inconsistent with Australia's obligations under the SPS Agreement and in particular Articles 2.1 2.2 2.3 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.5 5.6 8 and Annex C. On 13 September 2007 the European Communities requested to join the consultations. On 14 September 2007 the United States requested to join the consultations. Subsequently Australia informed the DSB that it had accepted the requests of the European Communities and the United States to join the consultations. On 6 December 2007 New Zealand requested the establishment of a panel. At its meeting on 17 December 2007 the DSB deferred the establishment of a panel.
Risk Assessment in the International Food Safety Policy Arena
Two institutions provide multilateral venues for countries to discuss food safety measures at the international level: the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex) and the World Trade Organization. Both institutions encourage their members to base food safety standards on scientific evidence. In this paper we provide a description of how food safety related scientific evidence is generated and how it is used in the context of risk assessment for international standard-setting at CODEX and in WTO trade disputes. In particular we discuss the processes leading to policy conclusions on the basis of scientific evidence with a focus on the interactions involved between private and public sector actors and those between “scientific experts” and others. We identify weaknesses in the current institutional set-up and provide suggestions on how to improve the interaction between different players at the national and international level so as to strengthen the existing system and increase its cost efficiency.
Mexico - Definitive Countervailing Measures on Olive Oil from the European Communities
On 31 March 2006 the European Communities requested consultations with Mexico concerning the imposition by Mexico of definitive countervailing measures on imports of olive oil from the European Communities.
Turkey - Measures Affecting the Importation of Rice
On 2 November 2005 the United States requested consultations with Turkey concerning the latter’s import restrictions on rice from the United States. According to the request Turkey requires an import license to import rice but fails to grant such licenses to import rice at Turkey’s bound rate of duty. According to the request Turkey also operates a tariff-rate quota for rice imports requiring that in order to import specified quantities of rice at reduced tariff levels importers must purchase specified quantities of domestic rice including from the Turkish Grain Board (TMO) Turkish producers or producer associations (“the domestic purchase requirement”). The request lists more than ten measures through which Turkey has allegedly maintained the foregoing restrictions on rice imports including Decree No. 96/7794 related to the General Assessment of the Regime Regarding Technical Regulations and Standardization for Foreign Trade (Official Gazette No. 22541 1 February 1996 Repeated).
Chile - Price Band System and Safeguard Measures Relating to Certain Agricultural Products - Recourse 1
On 5 October 2000 Argentina requested consultations with Chile concerning: the price band system established by Law 18.525 (as subsequently amended by Law 18.591 and Law 19.546) as well as implementing regulations and complementary and/or amending provisions; and the provisional safeguard measures adopted on 19 November 1999 by Decree No. 339 of the Ministry of Economy and the definitive safeguard measures imposed on 20 January 2000 by Decree No. 9 of the Ministry of Economy on the importation of various products including wheat wheat flour and edible vegetal oils. Argentina considered that these measures raised questions concerning the obligations of Chile under various agreements. According to Argentina the provisions with which the measures relating to the said price band system are inconsistent include but are not limited to the following: Article II of the GATT 1994 and Article 4 of the Agreement on Agriculture. According to Argentina the provisions with which the safeguard measures are inconsistent include but are not limited to the following: Articles 2 3 4 5 6 and 12 of the Safeguards Agreement and Article XIX:1(a) of the GATT 1994
Chile - Price Band System and Safeguard Measures Relating to Certain Agricultural Products - Recourse 1
On 5 October 2000 Argentina requested consultations with Chile concerning: - the price band system established by Law 18.525 (as subsequently amended by Law 18.591 and Law 19.546) as well as implementing regulations and complementary and/or amending provisions; and - the provisional safeguard measures adopted on 19 November 1999 by Decree No. 339 of the Ministry of Economy and the definitive safeguard measures imposed on 20 January 2000 by Decree No. 9 of the Ministry of Economy on the importation of various products including wheat wheat flour and edible vegetal oils. Argentina considered that these measures raised questions concerning the obligations of Chile under various agreements. According to Argentina the provisions with which the measures relating to the said price band system are inconsistent include but are not limited to the following: Article II of the GATT 1994 and Article 4 of the Agreement on Agriculture. According to Argentina the provisions with which the safeguard measures are inconsistent include but are not limited to the following: Articles 2 3 4 5 6 and 12 of the Safeguards Agreement and Article XIX:1(a) of the GATT 1994