SPS Agreement Background

Emergence of an SPS Regime

It was in the context of the Uruguay Round negotiations that countries negotiated the reduction of agricultural tariffs as rules to control the use of sanitary and phytosanitary measures in trade. Early in the negotiations countries realized that as tariffs came down governments could, unless rules were in place, resort to the use of SPS measures as a new form of trade protectionism. The result of the negotiation was the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which we know as the SPS Agreement.

Generally, the Agreement requires governments to adopt SPS regulations which affect trade in an open, nondiscriminatory, and science-based fashion. Concepts such as risk assessment, regionalization, equivalence and transparency--new concepts for many governments around the world--have suddenly risen to the level of an international obligation. Today, regulatory officials worldwide face a collective challenge in developing and adopting risk assessment and risk management systems and practices that are consistent with their legal obligations under the SPS Agreement.

In addition to establishing new rules to govern the use of sanitary and phytosanitary requirements in trade, the Uruguay Round also resulted in the establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO), including several Committees within the WTO structure to monitor implementation of the various agreements (including the SPS Agreement) and to administer the dispute settlement procedures. Under the dispute settlement procedures, negotiated during the Uruguay Round, WTO member countries have the right to challenge other WTO members whose import measures or policies are inconsistent with the SPS Agreement.