India introduced more than half of the new trade concerns debated at a recent World Trade Organization (WTO) meeting.
Attendees at the November meeting of the WTO Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures addressed trade concerns related to food safety and animal and plant health.
Members raised 64 specific trade concerns (STCs), including 13 for the first time.
New topics were delays and restrictions impacting agricultural and food products and restrictions on pesticide residue levels. Members also addressed import controls on spices due to chemical limits, bans on certain pesticides for fresh produce, and measures related to animal diseases.
India raised seven of the new concerns. They included Russia’s delay in listing establishments for export of dairy and egg products, the EU reducing the maximum residue limit (MRL) of acetamiprid, the UK non-renewal of the substance mancozeb, and China’s restriction on spice imports due to ethylene oxide.
Brazil called Thailand’s suspension of exports of beef and edible offal from the country “unjustified”.
Returning issues
Previously mentioned concerns covered pesticide tolerances and the environment, legislation for endocrine disruptors and veterinary medicinal products, and approval processes for products such as seafood.
Concerns over regional food safety standards, delays in approval for export establishments, limits on contaminants, such as cadmium in cocoa products, and regulations affecting safety standards for veterinary and plastic materials coming into contact with food were also flagged.
Russia raised the issue of EU delays in renewing authorizations for fishery firms and fish products for the third time.
Import restrictions by China, Hong Kong, and Russia on aquatic products from Japan after the discharge of Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant was discussed for the fourth time.
For the 12th time since 2021, China’s delays in approving requests for new listings and reinstatement of exporting establishments have been raised. This concern includes the EU, the United States, and Australia.
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is conducting research to address key knowledge and evidence gaps regarding the use and impacts of SPS e-certificates. A final report will be presented internally this month.
American support
Meanwhile, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given $180,000 to help developing economies meet international food safety, animal and plant health standards, and facilitate safe trade.
The money will support the work of the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF) to improve access to global and regional markets for developing economies and least-developed countries (LDCs).
WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala thanked the U.S. for its support in tackling sanitary and phytosanitary-related challenges.
“This will help producers participate more effectively in regional and global value chains and will contribute to raising export revenues, incomes, and living standards,” she said.
STDF was established by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization (WHO), and WTO.
María Pagán, ambassador and permanent representative to the WTO, said: “The renewal of FDA’s investment in the STDF continues the U.S. commitment to ensuring that technical assistance is made available to developing countries, and I look forward to seeing the fruits of this partnership continue to ripen in the years to come.”
Germany recently pledged €150,000 ($158,000) to the STDF for 2024 and Sweden said it would contribute SEK 30 million ($2.7 million) from 2024 to 2026.
Kelly McCormick, who served as STDF working group chair in 2022, said: “With all of the donor countries and member organizations pooling resources, expertise, and funds — the reach of what we are collectively able to do to build SPS capacity goes far beyond the sum of what we would have been able to accomplish as individual countries, agencies, or organizations.”
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