IPPC Standards and Guides relevant to pest free areas explained at the SPS Committee meeting

The Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Committee held a thematic session on pest-free areas (PFAs) on 27 February prior to the 71st regular meeting of the SPS Committee (1-2 March 2018). Session took place at the WTO in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mr Sam Bishop, an IPPC Standards Committee member, provided an overview of the relevant International Standards for Phytosanitary Measures (ISPMs) and IPPC guides and highlighted the benefits and challenges in implementing them. Factors to be considered when establishing and maintaining PFAs were also outlined, as well as uses of PFAs to help gain market access were presented. Speakers representing several different organizations and agencies provided information on relevant tools and technologies for establishing and maintaining PFAs and shared experiences on the topic. Presentations will be posted on the SPS website.

In addition, Ms Ketevan Lomsadze, Implementation-Facilitation officer of the IPPC Secretariat, participated in the SPS committee meeting and updated participants on the IPPC Secretariat s major activities since the last Committee meeting, November 2017, with specific emphasis on:

• the first meeting of the newly formed Implementation and Capacity Development Committee (IC),
• an overview of the IPPC guides that are under development and the new IPPC eLearning courses,
• the discussions on the new joint Call for Topics for: Standards and Implementation,
• IPPC Secretariat activities related to trade facilitation.

The SPS Committee approved the catalogue of instruments available to WTO members to manage SPS issues and proposed a process for the fifth review of the operation and implementation of the Agreement on the application of SPS measures.

The next SPS committee meeting is scheduled on 11-13 July 2018, and will be preceded by a Workshop on control, inspection and approval procedures (as per ANNEX C of the SPS Agreement).