39. The Delegation of Egypt gave a presentation on the SPS and TBT Agreements and their implications on national food safety and on food trade. It was stressed that the application of both agreements would enhance the systematic application of international standards for food safety and quality control.
40. Most Delegations mentioned that the accession of developing countries to the WTO and therefore to the SPS and TBT Agreements could cause significant difficulties as an amount of modification of national legislation would be required. Some Delegations mentioned that the effects of importing countries’ SPS/TBT measures might be larger for small countries, where traditional products produced by small enterprises or manufacturers might not be able to afford the transition to rules based on scientific risk assessment principles and could therefore lose their foreign markets.
41. The Coordinating Committee generally agreed that assistance at every level would be needed for the countries of the Region to undergo structural changes in order to fulfil the obligations under the SPS and TBT Agreements.
42. The Representative of the World Trade Organization (WTO) clarified that the SPS Agreement enhanced the application of international standards for food safety; should a country choose not to use the relevant international food safety standards, its measures should be based on scientific risk assessment. The SPS Agreement provided also for the principle of non-discrimination in the sense that imported products should not be treated less favorably than equivalent domestic products. The decision making process under the SPS Agreement was open to all Member countries. It was stressed therefore that all Member countries should make every effort to participate in its decision-making procedures. The Coordinating Committee noted with appreciation that a variety of technical assistance and training were now provided by WTO on the request of its Member countries as well as bilaterally and through appropriate international organizations.
43. The Representative of FAO reminded the Coordinating Committee that FAO under its technical cooperation programmes, provided technical assistance especially for developing countries to adapt their infrastructure to the outcome of the Uruguay Round of the world trade negotiation. He referred also to the provision of the SPS Agreement concerning the cooperation between trade partners (Article 9 of the Agreement) and stressed the importance of technical assistance on a bilateral basis to achieve the objective in a cost-effective way.
44. The Representative of WHO stated that WHO was placing very high importance on food safety and reported that donors such as the Regional Development Banks were now willing to provide financial assistance to their Member countries to bring their food control systems into conformity with the requirements of the SPS Agreement.
45. The Coordinating Committee noted that the Codex Alimentarius Commission had been aware of the possible implication of the SPS and TBT Agreements in relation to the Codex work and that the Codex Committee on Food Import and Export Inspection and Certification Systems (CCFICS) had been working in this area since its establishment in 1991. The work of the CCFICS had led to the completion of the drafting of the “Guidelines for the Judgement of Equivalence of Sanitary Measures Associated with Food Import and Export Certification Systems” which would be submitted to the Codex Alimentarius Commission for adoption at its 24th Session.
