Annex II
RSPM No. 5
GUIDELINES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND APPLICATION OF EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND EMERGENCY MEASURES
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Contents |
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Page |
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INTRODUCTION |
53 |
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Scope |
53 |
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References |
53 |
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Definitions and abbreviations |
53 |
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Outline of requirements |
54 |
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Background |
54 |
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IPPC and ISPM documentation relevant to emergency action and emergency measures |
55 |
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Requirements |
56 |
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1. |
Emergency actions and emergency measures |
56 |
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2. |
Identification of emergency situations |
56 |
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2.1 |
Pests that have not been previously assessed |
56 |
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2.2 |
Pests that have not been regulated for a particular pathway |
56 |
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2.3 |
Pests that cannot be identified adequately |
57 |
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3. |
Types of emergency action |
57 |
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4. |
Types of emergency measure |
57 |
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5. |
Procedures for the establishment and application of emergency actions and emergency measures |
58 |
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5.1 |
For the importing country |
58 |
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5.2 |
For the exporting country |
58 |
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6. |
Notification of emergency actions and measures |
58 |
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6.1 |
Notifying body |
58 |
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6.2 |
Parties to be notified |
58 |
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6.3 |
Time of notification |
59 |
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6.4 |
Content of notification |
59 |
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7. |
Evaluation of emergency actions and emergency measures |
59 |
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Regional Standard for Phytosanitary Measures No. 5
GUIDELINES FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT AND APPLICATION OF EMERGENCY ACTIONS AND EMERGENCY MEASURES
The standard provides guidelines for the establishment and application of emergency actions and emergency measures in international trade according to the relevant International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC) articles and International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs).
Agreement on application of sanitary and phytosanitary measures, 1994. World Trade Organization, Geneva
Glossary of phytosanitary terms, 2007. ISPM No. 5, FAO, Rome
Determination of pest status in an area, 1998. ISPM No. 8, FAO. Rome
Guidelines for the determination and recognition of equivalence of phytosanitary measures, 2005. ISPM No. 24, FAO, Rome
Guidelines on lists of regulated pests, 2003. ISPM No. 19, FAO, Rome
Guidelines for the notification of non-compliance and emergency action, 2001. ISPM No. 13, FAO, Rome
Guidelines for a phytosanitary import regulatory system, 2004. ISPM No. 20, FAO, Rome
International Plant Protection Convention, 1997. FAO, Rome
Pest reporting, 2002. ISPM No. 17, FAO, Rome
Pest risk for quarantine pests, including analysis of environmental risks and living modified organisms, 2004. ISPM No. 11, FAO, Rome
Phytosanitary principles for the protection of plants and the application of phytosanitary measures in international trade, 2006 ISPM No. 1, FAO, Rome
Requirements for the establishment of areas of low pest prevalence, 2005. ISPM No. 22, FAO, Rome
| detention | Keeping a consignment in official custody or confinement, as a phytosanitary measure (see quarantine) [FAO, 1990; revised FAO, 1995; CEPM, 1999; ICPM, 2005] |
| emergency action | A prompt phytosanitary action undertaken in a new or unexpected phytosanitary situation [ICPM, 2001] |
| emergency measure | A phytosanitary measure established as a matter of urgency in a new or unexpected phytosanitary situation. An emergency measure may or may not be a provisional measure [ICPM, 2001; revised ICPM, 2005] |
| Import Permit | Official document authorizing importation of a commodity in accordance with specified phytosanitary import requirements [FAO, 1990; revised FAO, 1995; ICPM, 2005] |
| intended use | Declared purpose for which plants, plant products, or other regulated articles are imported, produced, or used [ISPM No. 16, 2002] |
| interception (of a consignment) | The refusal or controlled entry of an imported consignment due to failure to comply with phytosanitary regulations [FAO, 1990; revised FAO, 1995] |
| interception (of a pest) | The detection of a pest during inspection or testing of an imported consignment [FAO, 1990; revised CEPM, 1996] |
| NPPO | National Plant Protection Organization [FAO, 1990; ICPM, 2001] |
| outbreak | A recently detected pest population, including an incursion, or a sudden significant increase of an established pest population in an area [FAO, 1995; revised ICPM, 2003] |
| phytosanitary action | An official operation, such as inspection, testing, surveillance or treatment, undertaken to implement phytosanitary measures [ICPM, 2001: revised ICPM, 2005] |
| phytosanitary measure | Any legislation, regulation or official procedure having the purpose to prevent the introduction and/or spread of quarantine pests, or to limit the economic impact of regulated non-quarantine pests [FAO, 1995; revised IPPC, 1997; ISPM, 2002] |
| point of entry | Airport, seaport or land border point officially designated for the importation of consignments, and/or entrance of passengers [FAO, 1995] |
| provisional measure | A phytosanitary regulation or procedure established without full technical justification owing to current lack of adequate information. A provisional measure is subjected to periodic review and full technical justification as soon as possible [ICPM, 2001] |
| transparency | The principle of making available, at the international level, phytosanitary measures and their rationale [FAO, 1995; revised CEPM, 1999; based on the World Trade Organization Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures] |
The establishment and application of emergency actions and/or measures (as defined in ISPM No. 5) are based primarily on the IPPC Article VII 6, ISPM Nos. 13 and 20. NPPOs should note the different definitions and requirements for emergency action and emergency measures. Emergency measures may or may not be provisional measures.
In establishing and applying emergency actions and measures NPPO should consider:
The preparation of guidelines on the use of phytosanitary emergency actions and/or emergency measures is to assist all APPPC contracting governments to understand their responsibilities and to raise awareness of what actions and measures an importing country may apply.
The terms "emergency action1" and "emergency measure" are at times misunderstood. This standard provides guidelines to contracting governments on how to establish and apply both phytosanitary emergency actions and emergency measures in a practical manner that follows the requirements of the IPPC and International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs).
These actions and measures are applied in an emergency situation – a new or unexpected phytosanitary situation.
1It should be noted that the term "emergency action" as used in IPPC VII 6 actually means "emergency measure" – as in ISPM No. 5 and as in the French and Spanish version of the IPPC.
Normally, phytosanitary import requirements that apply to a particular commodity are determined and made available to the exporting party before exports commence. These phytosanitary measures would be technically justified by the importing party. However, with emergency actions and/or emergency measures they are typically applied immediately in response to an emergency situation without the exporter/exporting country receiving prior notice and full technical justification may not be available at the time of application. Therefore, there are strict conditions attached to the use of emergency action and emergency measures.
The section in the IPPC with particular relevance to emergency measures is Article VII 6.
"6. Nothing in this Article shall prevent any contracting party from taking appropriate emergency action on the detection of a pest posing a potential threat to its territories or the report of such a detection. Any such action shall be evaluated as soon as possible to ensure that its continuance is justified. The action taken shall be immediately reported to contracting parties concerned, the Secretary, and any regional plant protection organization of which the contracting party is a member."
Article VII 6 clearly outlines the responsibilities of countries2 that apply emergency measures. If a provisional measure is applied, its technical justification should be reviewed as soon as possible and the contracting governments concerned, the IPPC Secretary and any RPPO of which the importing party implementing the action/measure is a member should also be notified.
It should also be noted that this section of the IPPC specifically does
not follow the basic principle in
Article VII 2a and Principle 1.8 in ISPM No. 1:
"Contracting parties shall not, under their phytosanitary legislation, take any of the measures specified in paragraph 1 of this Article (VII) unless such measures are made necessary by phytosanitary considerations and are technically justified."
However, the Glossary of Phytosanitary Terms (2007) makes a differentiation between the terms emergency measure and emergency action. The Glossary definitions are followed in this standard.
Principle 2.11: Emergency Measures of ISPM No. 1, states that "Contracting parties may adopt and/or implement emergency actions, including emergency measures, when a new or unexpected phytosanitary risk is identified. Emergency measures should be temporary in their application. The continuance of the measures should be evaluated by pest risk analysis or other comparable examination as soon as possible, to ensure that the continuance of the measure is technically justified". Here it is noted that emergency action and/or emergency measures can be applied where a new or unexpected phytosanitary risk is identified and not just on the detection of a pest posing a potential threat. Again, the evaluation of the emergency measures is stressed so that the new phytosanitary requirements are technically justified by a PRA or comparable examination.
ISPM No. 13, Guidelines for the Notification of Non-compliance and Emergency Action, provides guidance on when emergency action may be taken (section 4.2), the information that may be included in a notification of such actions (mainly for non-compliance notifications) (section 4.6), and the nature of the investigation to be conducted to justify the emergency actions taken.
ISPM No. 20, Guidelines for a Phytosanitary Import Regulatory System, also discusses when emergency measures may be required plus phytosanitary actions that can be taken.
These documents provide the basis for the following requirements.
2Those countries that are members of the World Trade Organization will also have to take note of the requirements of the Agreement on Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Annex B, paragraph 6. These requirements include the notification of other countries via the Secretariat of the regulation (i.e. measure) including the products covered with an indication of the objective and rationale of the regulation.
Emergency actions are prompt phytosanitary actions such as inspection, testing, treatment or refusal taken in a new and unexpected phytosanitary situation. In accordance with ISPM No. 13, the exporting contracting party should be notified of the emergency actions taken. Emergency actions in international trade are typically associated with individual consignments, and applied at one point in time.
Emergency measures are phytosanitary measures such as regulations or procedures, established as a matter of urgency in a new or unexpected phytosanitary situation. They are usually established without prior notification to trading partners. Immediately after emergency measures are established, they should be reported to contracting governments concerned, the Secretary of the IPPC and any RPPO of which the implementing contracting government is a member.
Emergency measures tend to be longer lasting than emergency actions and may result in a phytosanitary action being taken repeatedly, depending on the situation.
An emergency measure may or may not be a provisional measure. A provisional measure is a type of emergency measure that does not yet have full technical justification because it is implemented as soon as the emergency situation arises when there is a lack of technical information.
When taking emergency action or emergency measures, contracting parties should take into account the principles listed in ISPM No. 1.
As outlined in section 5.1.6.2 of ISPM No. 20 (Guidelines for a phytosanitary import regulatory system), situations that may require the implementation of emergency actions or emergency measures may include those where:
2.1 Pests that have not been previously assessed include situations where:
2.2 Pests that have not been regulated for a particular pathway include those:
2.3 Pests, suspected of being regulated pests, that cannot be identified adequately because, for example:
Emergency actions for consignments in a point of entry, or during transportation include:
Emergency actions are usually individual operations on consignments. However, where an emergency situation occurs repeatedly on the same commodity from the same country of origin and the notification of emergency action does not result in an improved situation, then the continuation of emergency action may be justified. This may lead to the establishment and application of emergency or provisional measures.
An emergency measure established and implemented by the competent authorities, can be directed against the pest or the pathway of pest.
Emergency measures may include:
Emergency measures, which may be used by NPPO to deal with differing situations include:
When an emergency situation occurs, an NPPO can apply one or more of the measures mentioned above as considered appropriate.
Where the emergency measure is not a provisional measure and which can be technically justified immediately, the technical justification should be made available as appropriate.
Where the emergency measure applied is a provisional measure, the NPPO should undertake a review of the technical justification of the measure as soon as possible. If the review indicates the measures are inappropriate, the measure should be modified accordingly.
Both importing countries and exporting countries have responsibilities when new or unexpected phytosanitary situations occur in international trade.
5.1 For the importing country
When an emergency situation occurs and emergency action or emergency measures need to be taken, the NPPO of an importing country may use some or all of the following procedures to establish and apply emergency action and/or measures. An NPPO:
If emergency action is taken repeatedly, the NPPO may establish and apply emergency measures (with justification if available).
5.2 For the exporting country
The NPPO of an exporting country:
6.1 Notifying body
NPPOs should clearly identify their relevant section or, if necessary, another agency that is responsible for making the notifications. Countries may use the section of their organization that is already responsible for similar functions such as the WTO-SPS inquiry point or IPPC contact point.
6.2 Parties to be notified
Emergency actions should be reported to the contracting government concerned.
Emergency measures should be reported to the "…contracting parties concerned, the secretary and any regional plant protection organization of which the contracting party is a member" (IPPC Article VII 6). The country applying emergency measures should ensure that trading partners are informed of the measures. Both the International Phytosanitary Portal (that is the Secretary of the IPPC) and RPPOs will be able to inform the wider phytosanitary community of the application of emergency measures.
6.3 Time of notification
For emergency actions, notifications should be provided promptly (ISPM No. 13 section 5).
When an NPPO establishes emergency measures, the NPPO should notify all affected countries and parties of the measures "immediately" (IPPC Article VII 6). Such notification should allow the countries and parties to react appropriately to keep losses to a minimum.
6.4 Content of notification
ISPM No. 13 section 6 describes in detail the information required for a notification of non-compliance and emergency action.
The notification of emergency measures should include the following information:
Emergency actions, as has been noted, are usually applied to single consignments. NPPOs apply such actions on a sound technical basis. Emergency actions taken repeatedly for the same emergency situation may become emergency measures.
If emergency measures require to be continued, they should be evaluated by pest risk analysis or other comparable means for the new emergency situation as soon as possible. The modification of the phytosanitary measures should then be communicated to the exporting country.
Where provisional measures have been applied, the NPPO should also:
