The IPPC ePhyto Industry Advisory Group Meeting Held in Washington DC USA

The IPPC ePhyto Industry Advisory Group (IAG) meeting was held from 27-28 June 2017, in Washington DC, USA. The meeting was chaired by Mr Gerard Meijerink, IAG Chair (International Seed Federation), and opened by Mr Jingyuan Xia, IPPC Secretary, with presence of over 20 participants from IAG organizations, several relevant Embassies in DC, USDA, and the IPPC Secretariat.

The meeting for the first day was hosted by the North American Export Grain Association (NAEGA) in Washington DC. The main activities of the meeting were to apprise the IAG of the latest developments in the IPPC ePhyto project, as well as to brainstorm on a number of ideas related to ensuring the success of the effort, including identifying industry business requirements associated with facilitating trade at the border.

The meeting for the second day was hosted by the Embassy of Canada in Washington DC. The main activities of the meeting were to brief the importance and progress of the IPPC ePhyto project and to discuss the implementation of the pilot project for the next step by highlighting key role of the government support.

Following these two days of meetings, it was clear that there is significant momentum building and industry and countries are very enthusiastic about the effort and willing to support the IPPC ePhyto as a key component of improving trade facilitation.